Category Archives: ECONOMY

What should we think of JD Wetherspoon ditching social media?

Tim Martin knows his audience and this is a shrewd move
This week, JD Wetherspoon announced it is closing its Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
The pub chain said that around 900 pubs and its head office will no longer have a social media presence. According to Tim Martin, the Wetherspoon chairman, ‘It’s becoming increasingly obvious that people spend too much time on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and struggle to control the compulsion.’ He went on: ‘We are going against conventional wisdom that these platforms are a vital component of a successful business.’
Commentators were quick to call it a publicity stunt. One Twitter user wrote: “Wetherspoon couldn’t build a social media following so got some free publicity by deleting its accounts.”
Others pointed out that most Wetherspoon Facebook pages have fewer than 1,000 likes but attract many negative reviews. A Twitter account allegedly made by the pub chain’s sacked social media team wrote:”So social media is a ‘waste of..

Barclays: Can whistleblowers be confident after City watchdogs issue warning notice to CEO Staley ahead of possible fine?

Regulators did not find he “that he acted with a lack of integrity or that he lacks fitness and propriety to continue to perform his role” over attempt to out a whistleblower
The scandal over Barclays boss Jes Staley’s attempt to out a whistleblower is reaching its end game, and it’s looking good for him and the bank he runs.
Barclays this morning revealed that Mr Staley has been issued with a warning notice from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).
These are sent out prior to the imposition of a penalty. Their existence isn’t usually revealed until the recipient has decided whether to either appeal or take it on the chin. However, Barclays has its AGM on May 1, which falls before the statutory 28 day period recipients have to make a response is up.
Read more Barclays boss Jes Staley to be fined over whistleblower scandal Barclays CEO falls victim to email prankster posing as chairman Barclays security chief 'faces investigati..

A View from the Top: Peter Fulton, the 'galloping gourmet' in charge of Hyatt hotels

The keen cook spills the beans on his rise from pot washer to hospitality executive
“Cut my arm and I bleed food and beverage,” says Peter Fulton.
Now executive vice-president of Hyatt hotels, and group president of Europe, Africa, Middle East and South-West Asia, he was originally inspired as a young lad growing up in Christchurch, New Zealand, by the “Galloping Gourmet” on television, Graham Kerr. When he left school, he knew he wanted to cook: “But I didn’t want to be a chef chef, I wanted to learn all the skills of catering and hospitality.” Which may explain how he started off as an apprentice pot washer at the Travelodge at Auckland airport.
Read more A View from the Top: Naina Lal Kidwai on life after HSBC A View from the Top: Anne-Marie Curtis, editor-in-chief of ELLE UK Joanna Dai, the ex-banker taking on the world of women’s fashion A tenuous Scottish connection led him to the Napier College of Commerce and Technology, where he won the “Taste of Scotland” competition th..

Bank of England interest rate-setter Michael Saunders dismisses signs of UK economic slowdown

Michael Saunders one of two members of the MPC to vote in March for an immediate hike in the cost of borrowing from 0.5 per cent to 0.75 per cent
A member of the Bank of England’s rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee has said the apparent slowdown in the UK economy is likely to be a blip, suggesting that he will vote again for interest rates to rise again next month.
Read more Michael Saunders hints at support for interest rate rise What the new man in charge of setting UK interest rates really thinks Michael Saunders, an external member of the MPC, was one of two members of the nine person committee to vote, unexpectedly, in March for an immediate hike in the cost of borrowing from 0.5 per cent to 0.75 per cent in order to curb growing inflationary pressures.
Financial markets earlier this week had bet heavily on the entire MPC swinging behind an increase at its May meeting.
But official data on the economy this week, including retail sales, has come in weaker than expected, pr..

Pound sterling continues to slide after Mark Carney puts May interest rate rise in doubt

It followed sharp falls on Thursday evening after the Bank of England Governor drew attention to 'mixed data' on the UK economy
The pound continued to fall against the dollar on Friday morning as markets reacted to Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney’s comments casting doubt on an interest rate rise in May.
Sterling slipped 0.3 per cent to $1.4047 and was also 0.15 per cent down against the euro at €1.1394.
It followed sharp falls on Thursday evening after Mark Carney drew attention to “mixed data” on the UK economy revealed this week. The BoE governor said he didn’t want to be “too focused on the precise timing” of when rates might next rise and that the UK should “prepare for a few interest rate rises over the next few years.”
Read more Pound sterling slumps after Mark Carney casts doubt on May rate hike Traders had priced in a high likelihood that the BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee would raise rates next month.
“I don’t want to get too focused on the preci..

Royal Mail boss Moya Greene announces retirement plans leaving one fewer female FTSE 100 CEO

Greene will step down at the group's AGM in July
Royal Mail chief executive Moya Greene will retire next in September after more than eight years in the role, the company announced on Friday.
Ms Greene will stand down from the board at the group’s AGM on 19 July, and will remain at the firm to provide advice and counsel until 14 September.
She will be replaced by Rico Back, currently CEO of Royal Mail’s European subsidiary General Logistics Systems, and has been a senior executive within the group for 18 years.
Read more Royal Mail fined for sending 300,000 nuisance emails Royal Mail said Ms Greene will “pursue a range of other interests, including developing her portfolio career” following her departure.
“It has been my pleasure and a great privilege to serve as CEO of this cherished UK institution. I am proud of what we have achieved over the last eight years. It is very pleasing to note that around 20 per cent of this company is owned by our employees and retail sha..

Regulators propose fine for Barclays boss Jes Staley over whistleblower scandal

The lender's chief executive said he had not been aware that he had broken any rules
The UK’s financial watchdog wants to impose a fine on Barclays boss Jes Staley for breaching conduct rules when he tried to identify a whistleblower at the bank in 2016.
Mr Staley had tried to identify the author of two anonymous letters, which were sent to the board and a senior executive in June 2016. The letters, considered to be whistleblowing, raised concerns about a senior employee who had been recruited by Barclays earlier that year.
Read more Barclays agrees to pay $2bn to settle US fraud case Barclays: a bank desperately in need of boredom it won't get Barclays posts 10% profits rise despite investment division's woes The lender, which reported the incident to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) said Mr Staley had taken measures to identify the author of the letters because he considered them to be “an unfai..

Building firms waiting more than a year for bricks as raw material costs rocket, study shows

Weakened sterling has compounded rising price of raw materials
Building firms are having to wait more than a year for bricks, according to new research which also shows material prices are “rocketing”, with the extra cost often being passed on to consumers.
Bricks were reported as being the material in shortest supply and with the longest wait time, according to a study of small and medium-sized building companies carried out by the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).
Firms reported a wait time of more than a year for bricks, and up to six months for roof tiles.
Read more UK construction output suffers worst fall for five years The FMB said the supply shortage was caused by an increase in the price of raw materials required to produce bricks, which has been compounded by the weaker value of sterling, as well as high demand due to a buoyant international market.
The builders involved in the study are also at a disadvantage to the larger construction groups that can afford t..

Home and car insurance prices both fall in first quarter

‘This is a glimmer of good news for drivers who are facing rising fuel prices and increased vehicle excise duty rates,’ says AA’s Michael Lloyd
The price of car and home insurance premiums has fallen in the past three months, according to research by the AA.
Car insurance premiums peaked at their highest ever during the second quarter of 2017 but have fallen steadily since then to an average quoted premium of £660.64, which is 2 per cent less than in the final three months of 2017.
Average quotes for home buildings, contents and combined policies all fell over the quarter but remain higher than a year ago, according to the research.
Read more Car insurance prices fall as whiplash injury claims curbed The AA’s index reflects an average of the five cheapest prices from a range of insurers quoted by brokers, price comparison sites and direct against a fixed nationwide basket of customers.
Young drivers continue to pay the largest premiums for their cover. Men aged 17 to 22 pay ..

People starting apprenticeships fall by quarter amid frustrations over government levy

'The structure and implementation of the apprenticeship levy has acted as a barrier and brake to skills development'
The number of people starting apprenticeships under the government’s flagship scheme has dropped by nearly a quarter, official figures show.
The apprenticeship levy was introduced a year ago to help create three million apprentices by 2020 – but figures show a 24 per cent drop in people starting in-work training in the first half of the academic year.
Employers have been left frustrated by the “restrictions and inflexibility” of the government’s complex scheme since it was introduced in April 2017, the British Chambers of Commerce has said.
Read more Business leaders call for apprenticeship levy reform The government figures show the number of apprenticeship starts between August 2017 and January was 206,100, compared to 269,600 at the same point last year – a decrease of 24 per cent.
And in January, apprenticeship starts were down by 31 per cent com..