Retail and manufacturing slowdown hits the logistics industry June 7, 2016 Logistics firms are being squeezed by a higher cost of doing business and increasing pressure from struggling retailers and manufacturers, according to a new report. Barclays found 49 per cent of businesses said trading conditions had become more difficult over the last six months, as its measure of confidence hit its lowest level since the [...]
The curious case of Swiss referendums: Tunnels and trains win the day but tax changes shot down at the polls June 6, 2016 Swiss voters rejected the much-hyped basic income proposal put to them in yesterday's referendum. More than three-quarters of voters sided with the government and campaigners who warned the proposal to give every man and woman 2,500 Swiss francs (£1,773) a month was just too expensive. The proposal was put forward by a Swiss businessman through Switzerland's form [...]
SMEs have a gloomy view of the economy, as uncertainty over the upcoming EU referendum vote and higher wage bills take their toll June 6, 2016 The summer weather has done little to boost SME owners' moods, with research out today showing that many have lost confidence in the economy. According to the study by Close Brothers, only one in five SMEs said they were confident that the economy could deliver a steady recovery, while more than a quarter said they were [...]
The EU’s efforts to save the failing euro will cost Britain dear if we vote to remain June 3, 2016 In the Eurozone, austerity rules. The poorer countries are kept in straitjackets, stopping the state from spending more and the banks from increasing lending to boost their economies. Half of all young people are out of work in Greece and in Spain. A quarter of all working age people have no job in much of southern [...]
It’s Tax Freedom Day: It may be the latest it’s been since 2001 but you’re finally earning for yourself June 3, 2016 Ask a random person on the street how much tax they pay and they’ll usually guess around 20 per cent of their income. That’s the basic rate of income tax, and it’s easy to forget taxes like VAT, council tax, beer and wine duties, air passenger duty, motoring taxes and stamp duty. Even if you remind [...]
How to make workers more productive without paying them more May 31, 2016 It's a question most managers are eager to know the answer to: How can a company make its employees more productive without paying them more? A new study by economists Michael Kosfeld, Susanne Neckermann, and Xiaolan Yang — published on the economics commentary website VoxEU — observed 413 students doing data-entry to find out. It defined meaningful work as something with a [...]
National living wage hurting UK productivity and low-wage sectors, claims think tank May 31, 2016 The national living wage has had a detrimental impact on the UK’s low-wage sectors, a study by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has found. The think tank said that businesses are trying to offset the cost of the national living wage by cutting overtime, bonuses and other staff perks. It said that the UK’s low-wage sectors, [...]
Near record net migration isn’t an argument for leaving the EU – it’s something to celebrate May 27, 2016 Freedom is usually a positive concept. Freedoms are celebrated and defended. Through history, people have fought and died for their freedoms, be it freedom of speech, of association, of assembly, of thought. How to explain, then, the noxious negativity that is permeating debate on freedom of movement in the context of the EU referendum? The [...]
Pay growth remains subdued across manufacturing, warns industry body EEF May 18, 2016 Average pay settlements across manufacturing have been subdued since the start of the year, stuck under two per cent. In the second major wage bargaining round of the year pay deals have averaged 1.7 per cent, according to EEF’s latest Pay Bulletin Survey. But it's not just manufacturing that's feeling the pinch. A separate report [...]
The Bank of England’s agents’ summary on Brexit, housing and the living wage May 18, 2016 The economic slowdown is set to continue right up until the EU referendum, the Bank of England's latest agents' summary has revealed. The Bank's sprawling network of so-called agents are Threadneedle's streets eyes and ears on the ground of the real economy. They monitor local conditions, talk to businesses, and assess the general state of the nation, [...]