Business and Economics

Women in banking face a ‘double glass ceiling’; one when being promoted to management and another when being promoted to executive roles, according to new research from the SKEMA Business School Observatory on the Feminisation of Companies. Although women make up 52 per cent of banking sector employees globally, they average only 38 per cent of middle managers and 16 per cent of executive committees. These are the findings of Professor Michel Ferrary’s ‘Gender Diversity in the Banking Industry’ report,...

A damning study has raised more serious questions about the benefits of Brexit after it was revealed one in seven EU companies with UK suppliers has moved part or all of their business out of Britain. A survey of over 2,000 supply chain managers by the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (Cips) showed that commercial links have already been heavily disrupted as part of the Brexit process, with a third of UK suppliers forced to increase their prices because of a weaker...

Young people are now more likely to set up their own small business than any other age group. According to new research almost 69 per cent of new businesses set up in the past five years were started by those aged between 18-34. And 27 is the age Brits are most likely to take the risk of starting a company by themselves. Gary Turner, MD and co-founder of Xero, which carried out the study, said: “Small business owners don’t always...

Many people will see this as a strange statement, from an ardent Brexiteer and one of the more prominent leave voices during the referendum campaign, but Liam Fox wants the EU’s help to fight tariffs from the US. Mr Fox wants to EU to help the UK out over the 25% import tax on steel and 10 % on aluminium introduced by the Trump administration. Trump's move has raised concerns that the US is planning a widespread trade war, which...

New research has unearthed a series of shocking stories of London business owners who have been forced out of their premises because of spiralling rents, with one committing suicide after a 200 per cent rent increase. 230 small businesses have united to call on London politicians to join them in confronting the capital’s affordable workspace crisis. Members of the East End Trades Guild will meet the Hackney and Tower Hamlets mayors on Tuesday and ask them to commit to their agenda​....

The US launched its threatened hefty steel and aluminium tariffs despite 100 Congress men writing to the President warning that this would precipitate a trade war and global economic disaster. Donald Trump signed an order meaning US steel imports now face a 25% tariff and aluminium 10%. Trump exempted neighbouring Canada and Mexico, and hinted that "flexibility and cooperation" would be shown to friendly countries. The UK will be hit hard. 15% of our steel exports go the US. With...

@BenGelblum  The House of Commons Exiting the European Union Committee has published the Whitehall Brexit impact analyses that the Government did not want you to see. Brexit Minister David Davis fought tooth and nail to keep the assessments of the possible impacts of Brexit on the economy confidential, insisting they might jeopardise negotiations with the EU if revealed. Yet it in the end there is only one section of the impact reports which has been left out of the 29...

A campaign to get employers to pay for candidates' travel expenses has been launched in support of boosting the UK labour force and improving social mobility. Debut, the student and graduate careers app, will lobby Government to introduce guidelines for employers to proactively offer travel reimbursement for all ‘in-person’ interviews, to better support the UK’s labour force and improve social mobility. The campaign is in response to research which revealed that the average cost of attending an in-person interview is...

Protectionist trade tariffs signed by Donald Trump show the dangers faced by the UK post Brexit, union GMB has warned. This week the US President officially sanctioned a 25 per cent tariff on steel imports, 10 per cent on aluminium, and is now threatening a tax on cars entering the US, together with a threat to ignore the protections on foodstuffs of specific geographical origin - posing a threat to Scotland’s whisky industry and Cornish pasty production. GMB says the...