We need a campaign for Living Costs – not for a Living Wage – to really help the poorest November 2, 2015 It's “Living Wage Week”. For seven days, the Living Wage Foundation’s campaign for employers to pay workers at least £8.25 per hour (or £9.40 in London) receives almost wall-to-wall coverage. Campaigners line up to tell us raising pay to this level is good for business as well as employees. Many large firms, most of [...]
Company prospects pick up as insolvencies fall in third quarter October 29, 2015 Prospects for business are looking brighter after industry statistics revealed a drop in the number of companies collapsing into administration in the third quarter of the year. An estimated 363 companies entered administration in the last three months, a decrease of 2.4 per cent compared with the previous quarter and 5.5 per cent lower than [...]
Meggitt share price tumbles as it warns on full-year profits and considers 300 job cuts amid slow sales October 28, 2015 Shares in Meggitt tumbled as much as 22.9 per cent this morning after the engineering company warned on its full-year profits amid challenging market conditions, which could lead to 300 jobs cuts. The FTSE 100-listed firm said challenging trading conditions would lead to full-year underlying operating profit coming in "meaningfully below" its current estimate of £369m. In response, Meggitt could axe 300 jobs globally [...]
Professional and financial recruiting up eight per cent in 2015 as salaries jump too – APSCo October 26, 2015 Good news for job hunters: professional and financial recruiting is up eight per cent this year, with average salaries increasing by 4.6 per cent since 2014. The number of finance and accounting roles has risen 17 per cent from last year, according to data from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo). This is in [...]
UK steel crisis: Industry leaders to be grilled by MPs after Tata Steel and SSI closures October 25, 2015 The extent of the crisis that has engulfed Britain’s steel industry will be laid bare tomorrow when business ministers and industry figures are questioned by a committee of MPs. The Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) select committee hearing, set for tomorrow afternoon, will address the problems of cheap steel from China, rising energy costs, and [...]
The 10 places to live in the UK for the best quality of life (and the 10 with the worst) and how London compares October 22, 2015 If you've ever considered escaping the London rat race in search of a better life, you'll do no better than settling in Edinburgh. The city has been crowned the best place in the country for quality of life, based on 26 different factors such as working hours, life expectancy, disposable income and even the number of [...]
Hinkley Point C nuclear plant deal is deferred pain to renewables’ deferred gain October 22, 2015 Yesterday, alongside the official announcement of China’s involvement in the deal, EDF said that its final investment decision on the construction of the new Hinkley Point C nuclear plant is now just weeks away. Given that the company and its Chinese partners are positioned to extract up to £80bn of cash dividends from the project [...]
In search of alternatives: Why new-look alternative investments are a good deal for those looking for bond-like returns October 21, 2015 This month marked the sixmonth anniversary of pension freedoms, and today’s retirees are having to make increasingly complex decisions about the future of their finances. With annuities no longer the only option, investors can turn to a multiasset approach, which can deliver a stable and attractive monthly income on a sustainable basis. In the [...]
Steelmaker Caparo set to go into administration, with the loss of 1,800 jobs October 19, 2015 Steelmaker Caparo Industries has gone into administration, PWC has confirmed, as the crisis in the UK's steel sector deepens. Caparo is set to go into administration with the loss of around 1,700 jobs. The news follows the closure of the UK's second largest steelmaker, SSI steelworks in Redcar, which was announced this month. The liquidation will lead to over 2,200 [...]
What commodities crisis? Rio Tinto posts healthy third quarter results with more iron but less salt October 16, 2015 Miners may have been hit be the global commodities crisis in recent money, but here's one which is doing alright: global miner Rio Tinto posted a 17 per cent rise in third-quarter iron ore shipments today. The world’s second-biggest mining company reported iron ore shipments of 91.3m tonnes, on track to meet its 340m end-of-year target. The figure, up from 303m tonnes [...]