Fire the bosses: How flat firms work April 1, 2014 A few companies are dispensing with hierarchies, but don’t expect the end of management MANAGEMENT theorists have long pondered the structure of the corporation. In an open economy, with resources distributed by the invisible hand, how can it be that the market’s bidding is carried out by these autocratic, centralised entities? Economist Ronald Coase supplied [...]
Kings of Leon: Meet fast food entrepreneurs Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent June 8, 2014 Annabel Palmer talks fast food in heaven with Leon founders Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent BRITAIN’S foodies have never had it so good. Barely a week goes by without a new fad emerging to whet their sweetbreads (most recently, the rise of American-inspired dipping and Korean cuisine); BBC One’s Masterchef becomes ever more delectable as [...]
New York Report: Good earnings and drug deals lift Wall Street April 22, 2014 US stocks rose yesterday as a host of solid earnings reports, along with strength in the healthcare sector, helped lift the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to their sixth straight advance. Netflix surged seven per cent a day after showing strong subscriber growth, a sign the trading favourite still had room to grow despite recent concerns [...]
McDonald’s cautious as tough economy eats into food sales July 22, 2013 MCDONALD’S yesterday said it expects the rest of the year to be tough for fast food sales, after posting a four per cent rise in net income to almost $1.4bn (£911m) for the second quarter. Shares in the world’s biggest restaurant chain lost 2.7 per cent yesterday after chief executive Don Thompson said “the informal [...]
Industry voices scepticism over pension policy January 27, 2014 GOVERNMENT plans to encourage a new type of pension system got a tepid response from the industry yesterday, with concerns about how it would work and the risk it would expose savers to. Pensions minister Steve Webb promoted the collective defined contribution (CDC) schemes this weekend, which would allow people to pool their savings and risk, [...]
The week in brief June 8, 2014 UK E&M market to be worth £64bn by 2018 According to PwC’s latest Global entertainment & media (E&M) outlook report, the UK E&M market is expected to grow by 3.1 per cent from 2013 to 2018 – to a value of £64bn in 2018. In 2013, Britain had the second largest E&M market in Europe, [...]
What hamburgers can tell us about the Norwegian krone February 3, 2014 You might not think to base your financial forecasts on takeaway trends. But The Economist's somewhat tongue in cheek "Big Mac index" has been offering investors a foreign exchange indicator, based on McDonald's famous burger of course, since 1986. The purpose of the index is to compare the prices of the same good – the [...]
Google puts pressure on Sochi games with anti-discrimination logo February 7, 2014 Search giant Google has joined the ranks of those hitting out at Russia's dire record on civil liberties. Russian rules against "gay propaganda" have been widely critiscised for promoting hatred against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender groups. Google's move to change its homepage logo follows comments from US Olympic team sponsor AT&T, who made clear [...]
Ministers delay pension rate cap change to 2015 January 23, 2014 MINISTER Steve Webb has announced that a cap on pension charges for workplace pensions will not be announced until at least April 2015, a year later than planned. The government is seeking to give employers at least 12 months to prepare for changes to the way auto-enrolment pensions are provided, Webb said in a written [...]
Floats are stacking up on Aim as pallet maker RM2 makes debut January 6, 2014 PALLET manufacturer RM2 joined the junior stock market yesterday after raising £137.2m to finance its expansion plans. The IPO is one of the biggest floats of the past year on the Alternative Investment Market. RM2 designs, makes and supplies pallets for transporting goods, using materials it claims are much stronger than the traditional wooden designs. [...]