UK economy ‘treading water’ as services sector struggles back to marginal growth May 3, 2019 Britain’s services sector improved just enough to return to growth last month after shrinking in March, but the economy remained “more or less stalled” according to analysts. Read more: US services sector continues its trend of solid growth The services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) stood at 50.4 in April, compared to a more than two-year [...]
Passengers face disruption at Luton Airport as Addison Lee drivers stage 24-hour strike May 1, 2019 Luton Airport passengers will face difficulty getting home today as Addison Lee drivers stage their first 24-hour strike over claims they are earning less than the minimum wage. Addison Lee was granted the exclusive right to operate at Luton Airport in 2012, meaning passengers will have few other options to get home by taxi if Addison Lee [...]
A year of two halves? April 23, 2019 Alex Crooke, Fund Manager of the Bankers Investment Trust, explains how the team is preparing for a different investment landscape in the second half of 2019. It’s in our nature as fund managers to continually contemplate about the future, but the level and scope of uncertainty facing investors today is almost unprecedented. What’s disappointing is [...]
Casual staff set for first payslips as government plan comes into force April 8, 2019 Nearly 300,000 workers will be handed their first payslips under new plans, the government has said. Staff on casual and zero-hours contracts will now get a payslip to serve as a safeguard against unscrupulous or mistake-prone employers. Read more: Millions set for pay rise as tax thresholds and minimum wages increase The new legislation will [...]
Millions set for pay rise as tax thresholds and minimum wages increase April 6, 2019 More than two million people are set for a pay rise as the national living wage and minimum wage thresholds increase, the Treasury has claimed. The national living wage is increasing from £7.83 to £8.21, which equates to around £690 per year and will affect 1.8m people. Read more: Osborne tax breaks for multinational firms [...]
The burden of business rates falls unfairly on the West End April 4, 2019 This week, UK retailers received one of their biggest tax bills of the year. The consequences of the 2017 revaluation of business rates will again be felt, with a further hike of nearly 50 per cent for some companies. Retailers in London’s West End and Mayfair will once again be hardest hit, paying the lion’s [...]
Still doubting the benefits of free markets? Just look at Ethiopia April 1, 2019 “It's a zero-sum game,” says Gordon Gekko in Oliver Stone’s 1987 film, Wall Street. “Somebody wins, somebody loses.” This sentiment relies on the idea is that there is a fixed amount of wealth to go round. It is nonsense – yet many, perhaps unthinkingly, believe it. Read more: Editor's Notes: The future of capitalism deserves more [...]
London’s creative industries are a culture club boxing out young people – here’s how we can fix that March 26, 2019 London’s creative and cultural sector has boomed in recent years, but despite its success, women, members of black, Asian, and minority ethnic groups, and other people from less advantaged backgrounds remain woefully underrepresented, particularly in senior positions. This is a result of London’s creative industry becoming a “culture club” – one that is exclusive, with membership [...]
Theresa May’s perverse migration stance will damage the UK’s economy March 22, 2019 One of the unexpected impacts of the Brexit vote has been a marked change in public attitudes towards immigration – for the better. Today, 45 per cent of Britons are positive about the impacts of immigration on the UK, while only 31 per cent are negative – roughly the reverse of the figures from three [...]
Inflation edges up from two-year low as food and alcohol prices rise March 20, 2019 The UK inflation rate edged up from two-year lows last month as food and alcohol prices rose. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) 12-month rate was 1.9 per cent in February, up from 1.8 per cent in January, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Read more: UK inflation falls close to a two-year low Rising [...]