Business

By Nathan Lee, Finance and Politics Correspondent  Martin Scorsese’s Wolf of Wall Street rubs salt in the wounds of those most affected by the financial crisis and massages the ego of the bankers who allowed it all to happen.   Five years on from the greatest financial crisis in history and it all seems rather like a pantomime. The mountains of sub-prime debt, spiralling consumerism and fragile economics are staged as the audience screams; IT’S BEHIND YOU! The trouble is, it...

By Carlotta Stephens, Commercial Director, Maine-Tucker As a corporate member of the REC (Recruitment and Employment Confederation) I recently attended an event at the House of Lords on the topic of youth employment. Staggeringly there are nearly one million young people in the UK who are neither in work, training or education. Statistics point to the fact that if you have a gap in your career early on, you are far more likely to have gaps in employment later in life....

By Drew Nicol  The US state of Colorado has taken centre stage for the first controversy of 2014 by declaring the legalisation of cannabis for recreational use. The decision has followed the new trend of a liberalising of attitudes towards cannabis, which began when Uruguay became the first country to legalise the full cycle of cannabis production and use in December 2013.  In the US, the successful launch of this reformed drugs policy has led other states, such as Washington...

Four ways in which the digital stratosphere will be altered by business in 2014. By Adam Walker 1) Businesses will Continue to Ruin Social Media (particularly YouTube) In a similar way to how Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are now stuffed full of advertising, the same destiny is awaiting this year’s trending platforms. Vines are already being mass produced by corporations and businesses looking to shove their brand name in your face in all aspects of your online journey. YouTube estimate...

By Valentina Magri Signs of life are stirring from Britain’s labour market after several years of stagnant growth. That’s the conclusion of the latest CBI-Accenture employment trends survey, conducted between September and October 2013. The respondents - senior executives from firms of all sizes and sectors - reported there is light at the end of the tunnel for the jobs market, with 51 per cent of employers expecting their workforce to be larger this year and only 12 per cent...

By Rebecca Doodson, Senior Conduct & Compliance Officer at the Association of Accountancy Technicians (AAT) Allegations of tax avoidance by large companies over the past year have caused outrage from many, not least from small businesses. This outrage is not necessarily unfounded. BBC Business have reported that Margaret Hodge, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said “ approach was firmer… when pursuing small businesses” and seemed to “lose its nerve” when chasing tax from large multinational companies. HMRC have “strongly disputed” these...

By Nathan Lee, Finance and Politics Correspondent Regional economic deficiencies must be solved by business attracting business. Boris Island proposals may have been rejected in the latest Airports Commission report, but London Island remains firmly on the agenda. Above the need for extra airport capacity in the South East, the recent report highlights the extent to which the UK is becoming a two tier economy. Birmingham and Stansted expansions were rejected along with the Mayor’s pie in the sky vision...

by Simon Middleton of Watershed  Bernard Marr, author of Enterprise Performance Expert, recently wrote quite a heated blog outlining why he believes Human Resources departments have had their day. According to Marr, HR departments no longer add value and demean human talent. While his views strongly resonate, there is a sense that he is responding to a view - often perpetuated by HR - that HR has always been the place where the challenge of organisational and personal performance is...

By Tom Lowenstein  Follow @stoopnik Save the Children's annual Christmas Jumper Day aims to 'make the world better with a sweater', but could it be doing more harm than good? People up and down the country will be pulling garish knitted garments over their heads next week, with Friday 13th December the date for Save the Children's now annual 'Christmas Jumper Day'. Much like Jeans for Genes Day, the nationwide event asks people to wear a Christmas Jumper for the...