Poor the great losers from our fiscal folly July 29, 2009 HERE is a disturbing fact you won’t have read anywhere else: the poorest families in Britain today pay a greater proportion of their income in tax than the wealthiest. Such a claim may sound crazy but here are the figures: the bottom fifth of earners pay 38.7 of their gross income in total tax, the [...]
INVESTMENT BANK PROFITS BOUNCE BACK June 30, 2009 THE WORLD’S best investment banks have clocked up bumper second quarter profits, reaping the benefits of a renewed focus on trading and capital markets underwriting, as well as the implosion of many rivals. While many institutions – such as RBS and Citigroup – are still finding conditions tough, a group of six is emerging as [...]
INVESTMENT BANK PROFITS BOUNCE BACK June 30, 2009 THE WORLD’S best investment banks have clocked up bumper second quarter profits, reaping the benefits of a renewed focus on trading and capital markets underwriting, as well as the implosion of many rivals. While many institutions – such as RBS and Citigroup – are still finding conditions tough, a group of six is emerging as [...]
Failure to take tourism seriously is a big mistake July 2, 2009 WHICH industry is worth £114bn, is responsible for 2.65m British jobs and represents 8.2 per cent of UK GDP? Perhaps surprisingly the answer is the tourism industry. So, given the clear importance of this key economic activity, it is surely worrying to consider that tourism bosses believe their business interests are not taken as seriously [...]
Getting ahead in a recession: five tips to sharpen up your job-hunt June 3, 2009 JOB hunting is a painful process at the best of times, and even more so during a recession. We spoke to Michael Moran, chief executive of career development company Fairplace, for tips on how to get to the next step on the career ladder. 1. UNDERSTAND THE SKILLS YOU HAVEIn order to sell yourself to [...]
Government housing data provides further cause for market optimism June 9, 2009 THE DEPARTMENT of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) was yesterday the latest to announce improving data for the UK housing market. Between March and April there was a rise of 1.1 per cent in the prices index of properties bought, putting the price of an average UK house at £189,215, compared to £187,193 a month [...]
Quality brands are becoming more popular again June 16, 2009 FOR a while we saw the march of the “value” brands, as the recession helped Aldi and co make advances on their more expensive rivals. The graph shows what actually happened to brand values. We have created two baskets of brands – seven associated with lower-end or “value-for-money’ (Aldi, Morrisons, Primark, Matalan, RyanAir, Walls, Subway), [...]
Spas for the mind are the new cure-all August 10, 2009 NOT long ago I found myself lying on a Freudian-looking couch in a small, neat room. Rather than a psychoanalyst sitting by my head with a clock and a contemplative expression, there was a lithe young woman at my feet, skimming over my bare soles with her fingers, asking me in a soft voice about [...]
Spas for the mind are the new cure-all August 10, 2009 NOT long ago I found myself lying on a Freudian-looking couch in a small, neat room. Rather than a psychoanalyst sitting by my head with a clock and a contemplative expression, there was a lithe young woman at my feet, skimming over my bare soles with her fingers, asking me in a soft voice about [...]
Pension threat to firms must be eased, says CBI May 25, 2009 THE government must lengthen the period over which it assesses the health of company pension schemes, according to the CBI. The employers’ organisation is today pushing for “urgent action” to extend the rule forcing the Pensions Regulator to investigate firms’ funding plans where deficit repayments will take more than ten years to 15 years. It [...]