Great expectations: Are ambitious goals a recipe for success or demotivation? August 17, 2016 Tesla chief executive Elon Musk outlined last month an update to the “master plan” he published a decade ago. He was vague on detail, but the car manufacturer is to develop electric cars, trucks, buses, and an app through which customers will be able to lease their vehicle. Next to his other venture, Space X, [...]
Make £££ interest on top current accounts this year August 17, 2016 Savers have been dealt a double whammy of blows this month. The Bank of England cut interest rates from their already-record low of 0.5 per cent down to a paltry 0.25 per cent, which is likely to have an impact on the already poor levels of interest paid on savings accounts. The 0.5 level was considered [...]
How Brexit chilled the jobs market this summer, as employers freeze up on professional hires August 16, 2016 For those who were hoping to polish off their CV during the summer holidays and find happiness in professional pastures new come autumn, recent statistics have been unwelcome. A study released this week by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and Adecco discovered the proportion of employers expecting to increase their staffing numbers over [...]
Direct Line abandons plan to offload part of its pension scheme August 16, 2016 Direct Line has abandoned the potential offload of part of its pension scheme, following the conclusion of an internal review. It was part of a defined benefit (DB) scheme — in which monthly payouts are linked to an employee's final salary — going back to when the insurer was wholly owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland. Direct Line [...]
Qatari bank with largest stake in UK broker Panmure Gordon to review portfolio after Brexit vote August 16, 2016 Qatari investment bank QInvest, the largest shareholder in UK-based stockbroker Panmure Gordon, will be “carefully reviewing and stress-testing” its portfolio after the Brexit vote. The company today reported revenue of $65.7m (£50.6m) for the first half of 2016 – up from $53.7m in the same period in 2015. The firm’s net profit, meanwhile, came in [...]
Four of the best: Investment opportunities from around the globe August 16, 2016 Markets have been turbulent this year and much talk has focused on potential risks. A smattering of uncertainties to consider include the ramifications of the Brexit vote and whether the UK will enter recession. Nor does anyone know how extraordinary monetary policy in Europe will pan out, or the ultimate impact there’ll be from the trillions [...]
If security breaches are inevitable, what are businesses to do? August 16, 2016 "It's not if, but when your company will be breached.” This is an oft-repeated line in the cyber security industry, and it puts business executives in a catch 22 position. They care about security and know how important it is, but the message they are hearing is: “the hackers will always win”. Bosses are left [...]
Three ways life has actually improved for millennials since last year August 15, 2016 Millennials… they might get a bad rap for being lazy, whiney and selfishly obsessed with selfies among other things, but it's a generation that's been saddled with debt, spiralling living costs and lower wages than any previous generation. And the socio-economic situation of young people has remained largely unchanged over the last year, new research reveals, while the bad news is, some areas [...]
Speedy Hire on the end of another rottweiler attack after chairman holds ground August 15, 2016 Activist investor Toscafund has this morning launched a fresh attack on Speedy Hire. Toscafund, which is the main shareholder in the company, has called for the ousting of chairman Jan Astrand. Read more: Toscafund urges Speedy Hire chairman to resign ahead of general meeting The activist, whose chief executive Martin Hughes has the nickname Rottweiler [...]
Debrett’s Ask the Expert: How to tackle the rude remarks that are dressed up as banter August 15, 2016 Q: I get on well with my boss, but he’s often cracking jokes that make me uncomfortable. Occasionally these can border on sexist and even racist comments, but more often they’re just rude remarks dressed up as banter – making fun of someone’s appearance or accent, for example. I don’t want to seem po-faced, but [...]
