Osborne says US and emerging market risks still threaten recovery February 4, 2014 Chancellor George Osborne has described recent US economic data as a "little soft", after two important surveys of US manufacturing failed to meet expectations yesterday. Markit and ISM purchasing managers' index results suggested that manufacturing growth in the US is starting to slow down. With PMIs coming in at 53.7 and 51.3 respectively for [...]
Why the Bank of England needs to stop deleting historical records March 11, 2014 A policy of deleting historical records at the Bank of England has come under fire, as individuals voice concerns about the implication for transparency. The tapes of policy setting meetings are routinely deleted – the transcripts destroyed once minutes are agreed upon. Today, Treasury Select Committee chairman Andrew Tyrie has asked for the Bank of [...]
City & Gild: How Tesco can make us fall back in love with its brand April 17, 2014 Tesco’s current strategy worries me enormously, especially off the back of a six per cent fall in profits. Chief executive Philip Clarke has confidently explained, “Tesco will be firmly established as a middle-market retailer, which offers low prices and good quality – all under one roof”. My translation of this is essentially, “we’re going to [...]
Top tip: Prep yourself with a day in Singapore March 30, 2014 SEEING as you’ll have used all of your savings and annual leave on this trip, and come so far, it makes sense to throw in a stopover to acclimatise yourself to the time difference. You could do worse than to pick Singapore, one of the original Asian tiger economies and now home to more than [...]
Letters to the Editor – 21/02 – Wasted Parliament, Best of Twitter February 20, 2014 Wasted Parliament [Re: Has the government now missed its chance to repair Britain’s public finances? Wednesday] Dominic Raab is wrong to say that it is “churlish to underestimate the challenge of turning around the economic mess inherited in 2010”. It would have helped if this government had actually done something to cut back the state, [...]
House of Fraser pigeon falls fowl in Jack Wills logo ruling January 31, 2014 News of an avian-related logo infringement has come to light this morning. The High Court has just ruled that House of Fraser’s use of a logo on its branded clothes has infringed on Jack Wills’ famous pheasant logo, known as "Mr Wills". The pigeon logo stepped on the toes of Mr Wills, with the judge [...]
Osborne threatens job growth with suggestion of minimum wage hike to as much as £7 January 16, 2014 Chancellor George Osborne has suggested that the national minimum wage could rise to £7 an hour. That'd be a hefty increase from the current rate of £6.31 an hour for workers aged 21 and over. It's also worrying for an economy that's only just started recovering. A hike of that magnitude – 69p per hour [...]
Cutting down on digital distractions April 7, 2014 Taking a break from emails and fitting your browser with productivity tools will boost concentration IT’S EASIER than ever to get distracted online. And whether it’s constantly dipping in and out of the rolling news cycle, responding to unimportant emails, or browsing social media, digital diversions are one of the most destructive office habits – [...]
Cutting down on digital distractions April 6, 2014 Taking a break from emails and fitting your browser with productivity tools will boost concentration IT’S EASIER than ever to get distracted online. And whether it’s constantly dipping in and out of the rolling news cycle, responding to unimportant emails, or browsing social media, digital diversions are one of the most destructive office habits – [...]
Obama turns to Twitter for Thanksgiving help November 28, 2013 TURKEYS are once again making headlines this Thanksgiving. Popcorn, a four month old turkey, was issued a Presidential pardon this week after users of social media decided President Obama should free the bird – by voting with the hashtag #TeamPopcorn. Caramel, whose gobble was described as quick, clear and frequent, received no such pardon and [...]