The Great Debate UK
Simplify employment tax to kick-start recruitment
-David Ellis is partner and head of human capital at BDO LLP. He specialises in the development of tax efficient, performance driven long term incentive plans for senior employees. The opinions expressed are his own.-
There’s no doubt about it, the UK’s complex employment tax regime is a major barrier for businesses to attracting talent. For our new report, launched today, we spoke to 126 financial decision-makers and we found that 34 per cent would be more likely to employ additional staff if taxes were reduced or reformed.
At present, onerous regulation is the fly in the ointment for recession-hit firms. On average, five individuals in each company are spending 5.6 days a month administering employment tax schemes.
These schemes also impact cash flow, which makes the prospect of the extra expense of new staff unfeasible. That’s why 1 in 3 of those surveyed felt that a simpler scheme would improve cash flow and allow manpower to be reallocated to such activities as new business.
Worst is over for U.S. job losses
-Kurt Karl is chief U.S. economist for Swiss Re. The opinions expressed are his own.-
Ongoing job losses pose a severe threat to the nascent U.S. recovery because they weaken consumers confidence and their ability to spend.
The cost of youth unemployment
-Tony McAleavy is the Director of Education at CfBT Education Trust. The opinions expressed are his own.-
In response to fears that 16 and 17 year olds were the forgotten victims of the recession, the government announced an extra 72,000 school, college and apprenticeship places from this month. If all the places are taken up, non-participation might dip from 14 percent to around 10 percent. And yet, as many as 100,000 16 and 17 year olds currently in employment (with or without training) would still be at risk from the recession.
Things just got a lot worse for inflation
- David Kuo is director at The Motley Fool. The opinions expressed are his own.-
What is the collective name for a crossing of fingers?
Because that seems to be what the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee members are doing. They are collectively crossing their digits in the hope that they have done enough to steer the UK economy out of recession.
They have pumped billions into the UK economy and it doesn’t seem to be having much effect – yet. That is unless you are a banker looking to bolster your balance sheet with freshly minted notes. Banks are happy to swap their assets for the Bank of England’s cash but remain unwilling to lend. Additionally, there is still uncertaintyabout the ability of the economy to grow unaided if the central bank should stop printing money.
How significant was the Lehman collapse to the UK economy?
- Geoffrey Wood is professor of economics at Cass Business School in London. The opinions expressed are his own -
The collapse of Lehman Brothers on September 15, 2008, was the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history, sparking a crisis that paralysed the global financial system. But how significant was the bank’s collapse to the UK economy? What about other events such as Northern Rock? Professor Wood argues that the fall of Lehman was just one of many symptoms of the recession in this country.
Managers face crucial new challenges in recession
- Dr Martin Clarke, Director of Leadership Development Programmes at Cranfield School of Management in the UK. The opinions expressed are his own. -
With an understandable focus on the short term demands of recession, the leaders’ role of generating debate about future priorities is never more crucial. In difficult times the tendency to force decisions, to be seen to act, can often mean an organisation’s strategic assets can get thrown out with the bath water.
Tiptoeing toward economic recovery after Lehman
- David Andrews is director of David Andrews Media, a financial public relations consultancy with high profile fund management and financial services clients based in the UK, Ireland, Cayman Islands, Cape Verde, Beijing, Europe and the U.S. The opinions expressed are his own. -
David is a former financial journalist best known for his weekly Daily Express and Conde Nast ‘Money Matters’ columns.
Few will be lifting a glass to toast the first anniversary of the collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers a year ago this week. With billions of dollars under management and thought to be invincible, the private bank was generally regarded as a potential gateway to the riches of Croessus for the ordained Masters of the Universe who prowled its Jackson Pollock-lined corridors.
from The Great Debate:
Japan: The mother of all miserable recoveries
(James Saft is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own)
Investors met the news that Japan's economy has emerged from a bone-breaking recession calmly and rationally: they sold shares quickly and in large amounts and made bets that consumer prices are going to be falling for years to come.
That's because Japan's recovery, coming as it does after a global bubble in the production of what I call, for lack of a more technical term, "stuff," is really not sustainable.
from Commentaries:
The recession is tough on teeth
The U.S. economy isn't giving dentists many reasons to smile yet, an annual survey of the profession by JPMorgan has found.
-
84 percent of dentists said the economy was having a negative or strongly negative impact on their practices.
74 percent said they think the economy will continue to weigh on their businesses 12 months out.
Government must act on bold promises to UK manufacturers
- Steve Radley is Director of Policy at EEF, Britain’s manufacturers’ organisation. The views expressed are his own.
This week the index of manufacturing activity in the UK moved into growth territory for the first time in more than a year. While that does not necessarily mean that the recession is over, it does suggest that we should be thinking a bit more about what sort of recovery we are likely to see and how well placed the UK is to meet it.
