Business and Economics

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 Valentina Magri Languages and China European languages are no more rewarding than those from further afield. At least, that’s the opinion of prime minister David Cameron, who said on his return from the trip to China: “By the time the children born today leave school, China is set to be the world’s largest economy. So it’s time to look beyond the traditional focus on French and German and get many more children learning Mandarin”. The reason is simple: Britain...

By Jack Peat, Editor of The London Economic Twenty fourteen has begun with a shameful dose of xenophobia as 'floods' of Romanian and Bulgarian immigrants 'invade' British shores, pillaging our lax benefits system and 'robbing' hard-working Brits of much-needed employment. Scaremongering and sensationalism are commonplace in the dark corners of the British media, particularly among publications which use it as a life line to dupe those with more fear than sense to disperse with their 50p pieces. As economic uncertainty...

By Valentina Magri 'Life is beautiful' is not just the title of a famous Italian comedy-drama, as of 2013, it may be also the statement of the typical English citizen. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has recently released a report entitled 'How’s Life in 2013', measuring the well-being of English people using the Better Life Index. The measure of the well-being is interesting for at least two reasons. The first is that it assesses individual and societal...

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 Mary Mellor, Emeritus Professor, Northumbria University George Osborne’s Autumn Statement was a classic espousal of handbag economics, so named after the saint of the handbag, Mrs Thatcher. Handbag economics is the common sense of our age.  Public sectors are like households, they must live within their means, balance their books, cut their coat according to their cloth. Britain is to face more years of austerity, not because it is in recession, but in pursuit of the handbag ideal. According to...

By Malcolm Henry, Author of Views From The Boatshed There’s a debate going on in some nerdy corners of the internet about negative interest rates, which sounds like a desperately dull thing to be wasting time on, but it could be the spark that lights the lamp that leads us out of the economic gloom into a bright and prosperous future. A negative interest rate is being considered by some as the only plausible way to stir the economy out of the...