Business and Economics

The UK economy has been hit with some depressing economic statistics…and it can’t be blamed on the “beast from the east.” In the first quarter of 2018 GDP growth was a tiny 0.1% reported the Office for National Statistics. Household spending has been weak and business investment at reduced levels has meant that this is the worst performance for the economy for five years. The construction industry declined by 2.7% and business investment fell by 0.2%. These figures will heighten...

The rest of the world will move on with or without us. The stupidity of Brexit gives them a laugh, just as we laughed at the Greeks a few years ago. The World will change. What will those changes mean for UK entrepreneurs? Tax Changes VAT is dead, long live BAT. We might be headed out of European VAT, but you can bet the life of your first-born that HM Government will replace VAT with a similar tax on purchases,...

The Institute for Fiscal Studies and Health Foundation said the NHS would need an extra 4% a year - or £2,000 per UK household - for the next 15 years. The report said the NHS has been struggling to cope after the toughest financial constraints in its 70-year history had been imposed on the service. Niall Dickson, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which commissioned the report and represents 85% of NHS bodies, said: “This report is a wake-up call. And its...

Private healthcare, an extra day’s holiday on their birthday and free gym membership are among the perks Brits want from employers, according to a study. Researchers polled 2,000 office workers to identify the benefits they would like to see from their place of work – including flexible working hours, a nice desk and staff discounts. Other desirables include company holidays away, being able to make personal calls at work and having space to be creative. However more than half of...

Mark Carney, governor of the bank of England has indicated that Brexit has already hit the UK economy and it hasn’t even happened yet. Carney said that Brexit has taken two per cent off the size of the economy in the UK and has left each household £900 worse off. He described this amount as “a lot of money.” The Bank of England boss has compared forecasts from before the referendum, assuming that remain had won the national vote. Carney...

A group of MPs have signalled that dodgy Russian money flowing into the British banking sector is harming UK national security. Even after Salisbury attack, it appears to be business as usual, and the flow of illicit money has continued regardless of the tough talk from the highest levels of government. The MPs have called upon the British government to take stronger action to halt money laundering by ‘kleptocrats and human rights abusers.” The foreign affairs select committee said the...

What have the Conservatives got against the UK shipbuilding industry, asks GMB? GMB, the union for shipbuilding workers, says the Conservative Government must not be allowed to downgrade the Royal Navy any more by ‘sneaking’ out of their obligation to build three Royal Navy Auxiliary vessels. The Ministry of Defence today announced it may only commission two new Fleet Solid Support ships – rather than the three that were expected. The new ships are required to replenish the UK’s £6.3 billion...

MPs have slammed the senior levels of management at Carillion for its untimely demise. Carillion’s auditor KPMG, was also heavily criticised, with MPs claiming they were “complicit” in the company’s “questionable” accounting practices. A hugely damning report, that runs to 100 pages, has been compiled by two select committees on the matter. One of the most shocking findings is that Carillion’s directors focused on bonus pay-outs to senior executives even as the firm teetered on the brink of collapse. Additionally...

Arriving late, wearing inappropriate clothes - and bumping a colleague’s vehicle in the car park are among the biggest blunders made by employees on their first day at work, a study has found. A poll of almost 3,000 workers revealed almost half have made a bad first impression after having a terrible or humiliating start to a new job. Others arrived to find they were completely over-dressed, spilled tea everywhere, got lost en-route to the office and said something inappropriate...