Latest Business News for the UK Accountancy Profession

BusinessZone

• newImprove The Economy By £26 Billion! Get Your Meetings Sorted!
  Over half our time in meetings is wasted and it’s costing the UK economy £26 Billion a year! That’s according to new research from Epson and Cebr! The results found that UK office workers estimate they spend 4 hours in meetings per week and that…
  Published - 5 hours ago, 20 May 12, 11:11pm
• Do you really know how to set up SEO?
  Do you really know how to set up SEO?Might sound like a strange question from someone offering SEO advice! But we exhibit at lots of business and networking seminars and in talking to visitors about SEO when we ask that question we often hear the an…
  Published - 2 days ago, 19 May 12, 11:06am
• Facebook IPO: The facts and figures [INFOGRAPHIC]
  Facebook has today floated on the stock exchange in one of the most high profile share sales in history. This infographic by Elevate Local explains the fact and figures behind the extraordinary rise of the internet phenomenon.For more business-rela…
  Published - 3 days ago, 18 May 12, 3:07pm
• Joshie The Giraffe And Customer Delight From Ritz-Carlton Hotels
  Ritz-Carlton Hotels are renowned for their brilliant customer service, and I often refer to them in my presentations on customer delight and the fact that all their staff have the authority to spend up to $2,000 to resolve a customer’s problem wit…
  Published - 3 days ago, 18 May 12, 1:11pm
• Small business competition to award cash prize funded by the crowd
  The Pitch 2012, Britain's biggest small business contest, will award one lucky entrepreneur with funding for their business which has been donated by the public. Organised by BusinessZone.co.uk in association with digital services provider Yell…
  Published - 3 days ago, 18 May 12, 12:39pm
• Launch now, tweak later: Why start-up entrepreneurs should go for it
  
  Published - 3 days ago, 18 May 12, 10:40am
• Infographic: A 64-point Pinterest marketing strategy
  Social network Pinterest, which was this week valued at $1.5bn after a $100m investment, is all the rage at the moment but how do you use it to market your business? This infographic explains.   For more business-related infographics, click…
  Published - 3 days ago, 18 May 12, 10:00am
• Why women are missing out on business finance
  More women are starting businesses than ever before, but lack of finance is preventing them from taking off. Erika Watson looks at what can be done.'Computer says no' business banking has one merit; it has reduced big banks' discrimination against w…
  Published - 3 days ago, 18 May 12, 10:00am
• Policemen Are Getting Younger, The Euro's Collapsing - Let's Build Great Businesses!
  You know you are old when you mention to someone that it’s sad that Davy Jones of the Monkees has died and they reply, “Davy Who, of the Who?”You know you are old when you say, “I remember Donna Summer – back in the day she was absolutely…
  Published - 3 days ago, 18 May 12, 9:49am
• Getting the better of the BYOD headache
  Smartphones, tablets and other devices are undeniably gaining more ground in the workplace. Research from BI Intelligence, the research arm of Business Insider, shows that tablet sales are going to hit 500 million by 2015, meaning a shift away from t…
  Published - 3 days ago, 18 May 12, 9:17am

Stefan Töpfer

• Work within reason, wise Dad advised
  My father, who worked for himself all his life, either alone or running his small business, said to anyone thinking of going for it (me included) that it would take ten years to get established. I couldn’t see that at the time but I now fully under…
  Published - 4 days ago, 16 May 12, 4:44pm
• Top 5 Tips for Business Credit Cards
  Top 5 Tips posts from the SME Blog are always full of hints and tips for small, home & micro business owners. 1. Using a credit card is actually a sensible thing for a business to do, provided they are going to be paying it off in full each month. Do…
  Published - 7 days ago, 14 May 12, 7:00am
• Getting more out of your networking
  A colleague of mine, Barclay Thompson of Clear Business Development, shared the following link (from Nigel Botterill called Networking – The Surest Way to Stay Poor?) with me the other day. Following that we met up for coffee earlier today to talk…
  Published - 10 days ago, 11 May 12, 2:43pm
• Taking over the (virtual) world
  
  Published - 10 days ago, 10 May 12, 3:50pm
• More than just a brand
  I told you last week that “back in 1998-9 our instinct was to radically change the course of our lives”, promising to tell you this week just how, where and why. That was a tad ambitious for one small blog, but here are the bones. Mother’s Gard…
  Published - 12 days ago, 9 May 12, 7:00am
• Dinosaurs, Wind Farms & Let’s Twist Again
  Keep up won’t you – most websites that promote ‘how to successfully start and run your own business’ are sponsored by big companies and government bodies and written by people that are in jobs and have never started their own business. The ad…
  Published - 13 days ago, 8 May 12, 10:19am
• To take on a senior employee in your own biz – or not.
  There is a better way of building your business than taking on a senior employee. Unfortunately, this better way is risky and certainly is not possible for all types of micro-business. My preferred options/alternatives to taking on a senior employee…
  Published - 13 days ago, 7 May 12, 7:55pm
• Top 5 Tips for London 2012
  Top 5 Tips posts from the SME Blog are always full of hints and tips for small, home & micro business owners. 1. The London Olympics are expected to cause travel chaos for small businesses and the general public this Summer. Make sure that all your v…
  Published - 14 days ago, 7 May 12, 7:00am
• The Easiest Customer May Also Be The Best
  I love reading Seth Godin’s Blog – you should click over to it, it’s worth it – he has a way to extrude the essence out of all kinds of stuff and topics. But sometimes he gets it spectacularly wrong, at least in my opinion. In one of his post…
  Published - 15 days ago, 5 May 12, 4:16pm
• Life in the little league
  At 5 feet 3 inches, or 1.60 metres if you work in metric, I should be used to feeling small so why then over the last 20 plus years of running my own businesses have I often felt like an inhabitant of Lilliput Land that has just seen Gulliver walk ar…
  Published - 17 days ago, 4 May 12, 8:28am

WinWeb Business Blog

• newBusiness Cloud for Tradespeople
  The Business Cloud can provide numerous benefits for nearly every business sector. This week we will look at what it can do for Tradespeople who operate their own business in one of the trades.We’d love to hear from you about this post. Please do…
  Published - 2 hours ago, 21 May 12, 2:01am
• Virtual Assistant Collaboration
  Don’t let admin take your business away from you.Want to grow your business quickly without investing a huge amount of money into your infrastructure first? You probably need a Virtual Assistant. Regardless of the industry you operate in, there w…
  Published - 1 day ago, 20 May 12, 3:11am
• Social Media Simplified
  What are the main social media platforms and what do they do?Facebook Facebook is the “big daddy” of social media. It has evolved from a site for students into a website for everyone. Your mum is just as likely to be on Facebook as your local p…
  Published - 2 days ago, 19 May 12, 4:10am
• Reporting On Your Finances
  The data that you get from your online accounting software is only useful if it can be used to create reports to accurately gauge the success of your business.Most people fail to realise how critical the reporting function of their accounting softw…
  Published - 3 days ago, 18 May 12, 3:47am
• Planning for business survival
  “Businesses that only live in the moment with no concern for their long-term future are more likely to make poor decisions and damage their prospect of survival.”
  Published - 3 days ago, 17 May 12, 10:12pm
• The Helpdesk as a CRM Tool
  If you want an effective and powerful way to manage your customer relationships, you can’t go wrong with a Helpdesk.WinWeb Helpdesk application provides businesses with a virtual helpdesk that is the modern equivalent of the old-style Customer Se…
  Published - 5 days ago, 16 May 12, 3:52am
• 7 Big Ideas for Better CRM
  The greatest way to generate positive feedback about your business is to give your customers the best possible service. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a method used by many businesses to try and strengthen the relationship between consumer…
  Published - 6 days ago, 15 May 12, 3:23am
• Business Cloud for Manufacturing
  The Business Cloud can provide numerous benefits for nearly every business sector. This week we will look at what it can do for the Manufacturing sector.Small businesses in the manufacturing sector have very specific requirements for their software…
  Published - 7 days ago, 14 May 12, 3:23am
• The Cloud means Collaboration
  Make your next project run more smoothly with cloud collaboration.Cloud Computing involves the on-demand delivery of services such as software and data storage, without the need for technical knowledge or installation on the part of the consumer. Y…
  Published - 9 days ago, 12 May 12, 10:00am
• Is your business Tweeting?
  It is time for your business to get serious about social media.Many business owners can’t see the point of Twitter. However, more people than ever are realising that it is actually one of the greatest low-cost marketing tools that a business can…
  Published - 10 days ago, 11 May 12, 10:00am

Robert Peston

• How serious is the £2bn Rock loss?
  The National Audit Office's estimate, that the government will ultimately lose £2bn on the privatisation of part of Northern Rock and the winding down of the rest, may sound painful for taxpayers. But actually…
  Published - 3 days ago, 17 May 12, 11:00pm
• Moody's downgrades Spanish banks
  Although the influence of ratings agencies can be overstated, the timing of Moody's decision to reduce the rating of 16 banks and the UK subsidiary of Santander could hardly have been worse because it comes at a time when investor and creditor confid…
  Published - 3 days ago, 17 May 12, 10:12pm
• The euro's survival 'requires political union'
  Creating the currency union was not a random act of collective economic suicide, but was in some senses a rational or even noble project that was either premature or too late. The tragedy was that a succession of post-war leaders, whose intentions wo…
  Published - 4 days ago, 17 May 12, 9:06am
• Does JP Morgan loss show regulators' great failure?
  Regulators could not be happier about JP Morgan's loss of at least $2bn that was generated by its Chief Investment Office. On the one hand, it didn't sink JP Morgan: the bank has enough equity and is generating…
  Published - 5 days ago, 16 May 12, 8:36am
• New Greece poll due as talks fail
  Nobody I speak to outside Greece can come up with any route for Greece that is painless for its people. Stay in the euro: belt-tightening, more impoverishment; more reduction in living standards. Go out: the same kind of impact on living standards.…
  Published - 5 days ago, 15 May 12, 7:14pm
• Could the euro survive a Greek exit?
  I am mildly bemused that central bank governors seem to be talking with some equanimity about Greece leaving the euro: the Belgian central bank governor describes an "amicable divorce" as "possible"; his Irish counterpart says a Greek exit is "not ne…
  Published - 7 days ago, 14 May 12, 9:27am
• Has Spain flunked banking test?
  For Spain, it does not look like fourth time lucky. Since the global banking crisis of 2008, there have been four attempts by the Spanish government - two by the current one, two by its predecessor - to shore u…
  Published - 10 days ago, 11 May 12, 2:39pm
• JPMorgan’s loss may cost all banks
  JPMorgan has a reputation for being one of the better managed and more cautious of the world's huge banks. But that reputation has taken a serious knock with the disclosure last night that a trading desk in Lon…
  Published - 10 days ago, 11 May 12, 7:06am
• Will Spain suffer an Irish bust?
  The big question for Spain and for the eurozone is whether it is a giant version of the Republic of Ireland. To put this another way, will the cost of rehabilitating its banking system be greater than Spanish t…
  Published - 11 days ago, 9 May 12, 8:22pm
• What kind of democracy for votes on bosses' pay?
  Today's Queen's Speech heralds a constitutional change for the UK's corporate citizens. The government will amend company law so that shareholder votes on big businesses' prospective remuneration plans for exec…
  Published - 12 days ago, 9 May 12, 9:52am

Guardian Money

• What are the best storage options out there?
  A reader wonders where to put their belongings while they go travellingEvery week a Guardian Money reader submits a question, and it's up to you to help him or her out – a selection of the best answers will appear in next Saturday's paper.This week…
  Published - 2 days ago, 18 May 12, 10:02pm
• Can babysitting rates really be running at 1,000% inflation since the 70s?
  I thought £30 for a couple of hours' babysitting was generous, but the young seem to have taken capitalist principles to heartTheir acrobatically minded 10-year-old would terrify me as I begged him to stop tightrope-walking the bannister. Their anci…
  Published - 2 days ago, 18 May 12, 10:01pm
• Euro crisis: Is Cyprus next for the Grexit?
  Cyprus, with its out-sized banking sector equal to 835% its GDP, could be the next knock-on from the Greek euro crisisOne of the mysteries of the Greek financial crisis is that there are any deposits left in the stricken country's domestic banks. Sin…
  Published - 2 days ago, 18 May 12, 10:01pm
• Stop the Caravan Tax say Tory and Labour MPs
  Two political rivals in east Yorkshire join forces to condemn the proposed VAT on static caravans. Their part of the north has thousands of jobs at stakeAmong the issues causing controversy following the Budget on 21 March is the Chancellor's proposa…
  Published - 3 days ago, 18 May 12, 6:35am
• Pasties, grannies - and now caravan tax adds to Budget blunders
  For the second time this week, Labour and Tory politicians make common cause in an article for the Guardian Northerner. Our political commentator Ed Jacobs sets out the contextNot for many years has a budget courted the kind of controversy and debate…
  Published - 3 days ago, 18 May 12, 6:30am
• Should my husband get a Spurs season ticket or pay for our holiday?
  A reader's husband's season ticket outlay could pay for a summer holiday but he's unwilling to give it upEvery week a Guardian Money reader submits a question, and it's up to you to help him or her out – a selection of the best answers will appear…
  Published - 9 days ago, 11 May 12, 10:02pm
• Olympic food prices are hard to swallow
  We have a super summer of sport ahead of us, but the 2012 organisers might regret their food and drink choicesIt was bad luck for the Olympics organisers that their test events last weekend were held on one of the dreariest, greyest, coldest May days…
  Published - 9 days ago, 11 May 12, 10:01pm
• The overdue death of interest-only mortgages
  As the door finally closes on interest-only mortgages, it is worth recalling how they can feed soaring property pricesBack in 1989 I foolishly bought my first property, a one-bed flat in a miserable part of south London. I borrowed as much as I coul…
  Published - 16 days ago, 4 May 12, 9:45pm
• Is it still possible to buy decent walking boots?
  Help a Guardian reader solve their footwear dilemmaEvery week a Guardian Money reader submits a question, and it's up to you to help him or her out – a selection of the best answers will appear in next Saturday's paper.This week's question:I've bee…
  Published - 17 days ago, 4 May 12, 1:51pm
• Does illness and old age have to mean crap food?
  An older reader wonders how they can continue to eat the meals they once enjoyedEvery week a Guardian Money reader submits a question, and it's up to you to help him or her out – a selection of the best answers will appear in next Saturday's paper.…
  Published - 23 days ago, 27 Apr 12, 10:02pm

Econoblog

• Coalition Agreement tell us nothing about what sort of tax the banks will get
  It says it all and it says nothing. The Coalition Agreement states quite baldly that the Government will indeed introduce a bank levy, a remarkable moment for a Conservative-led government. But, apart from the usual commitment to consult, it says no…
  Published - 20 May 10, 2:51pm
• Osborne faces tough decision on European hedge fund regulation
  George Osborne has a tricky decision to make. He really now must decide whether the UK is going to join the rest of the EU in regulating the hedge funds and private equity. It isn’t fair in one sense, because they haven’t been very important in t…
  Published - 18 May 10, 1:10pm
• Inflation figures are not a good omen
  Today's inflation figures confirm what many of us have been noticing in "real life", as opposed to the official statistical version - that the cost of living is going up at a fairly quick pace. RPI measure inflation is up to 5.3 per cent, and it's a…
  Published - 18 May 10, 11:41am
• Prepare for savage cuts
  The 5 per cent cut in salary for ministers on six-figure salaries doesn't really tell us very much about the "savage cuts" - as Nick Clegg once called them - that will soon hit every neighbourhood in the land. What will they really mean? Local librar…
  Published - 13 May 10, 1:29pm
• European appeasement, for now
  At last European leaders have got one step ahead of the markets. The vast, almost unimaginable sums they are waving around to persuade investors that they mean business and that the euro will be defended look convincing enough. But behind all that is…
  Published - 11 May 10, 11:16am
• The markets stay calm despite the chaos
  Keep calm and carry on is a war time slogan that has become famous recently, though it was never actually used at the time, for some reason. Anyway, that seems to the overwhelming mood in the markets today to the continuing political uncertainty. Tra…
  Published - 11 May 10, 11:15am
• A eurozone deal, at last
  At last. Though it will cost a trillion dollars, Europe's leaders, with a little help from Barack Obama and the IMF have done what they need to do to save the euro, and probably the European Union with it. It might have be cheaper simply to set up a…
  Published - 10 May 10, 11:11am
• Mervyn's words were hardly controversial
  Has Mervyn King had his very own Gillian Duffy moment? No. For one thing, the Governor, I assume, made the usual careful preparations to make it clear that his comments were strictly off the record, and for information only. Unlike Mr Brown, Mr King…
  Published - 30 Apr 10, 2:37pm
• Banks are making money and it's down to you and me
  "Bank makes profit - shock". Actually quite a few banks have been making good money lately, and much of it is down to you and me - the taxpayer - providing ultra cheap funding to them and pumping £200bn into the economy directly, which has inflated…
  Published - 27 Apr 10, 11:40am
• After Greece the markets hunt for their next victim
  Without getting too anthropomorphic, markets are a little like pack of hunting dogs; once they’ve identified, killed and eaten the lame Wildebeest at the back of the herd, they'll move on to the next weakest victim. That is what they did during th…
  Published - 26 Apr 10, 11:11am

Dan Roberts

• Guardian Daily podcast: Sir Alan Budd resigns as head of Office for Budget Responsibility; plus David Cameron announces torture inquiry
  Sir Alan Budd is stepping down as head of the Office for Budget Responsibility after just three months, amid claims that the spending watchdog was not politically independent, as the chancellor stated when he announced its formation shortly after gai…
  Published - 6 Jul 10, 6:22pm
• No committee grilling for most important budget in decades
  The Treasury Select Committee earned its spurs during the financial crisis with some of the only public scrutiny of banks and regulators. But the need to rush through an emergency budget to deal with its aftermath has had an unfortunate side-effect:…
  Published - 5 Jul 10, 2:04pm
• Office for budget irresponsibility | Dan Roberts
  Despite an optimistic employment forecast from the 'independent' OBR, the jobs decimation can't be disguisedIn a week when one set of government statisticians delayed releasing economic growth figures because they "were not ready", it might seem susp…
  Published - 30 Jun 10, 3:32pm
• BP dividend – the argument for and against paying out
  As BP shares plunge, the company may suspend its dividend. We look at both sides of the argument Poll: Should BP pay a dividend?Dan Roberts: Why BP should maintain its dividend, for nowNot for the first time in recent weeks, BP has found itself in a…
  Published - 10 Jun 10, 12:44pm
• Germans are not posturing on short-selling: they're deadly serious | Dan Roberts
  Angela Merkel's crackdown on speculators may be the beginning of a terrifying scorched-earth policyGerman efforts to seize back control of the European debt crisis were met with snorts of derision in London. Investors could not decide whether the ban…
  Published - 20 May 10, 7:29am
• Courts back BA – but are doing it no favours
  BA may have halted the cabin crew strike on a 'legal technicality' but it can only harden union opinion, and delay any resolutionBritish Airways might not be having much luck with Icelandic volcanoes of late, but its track record in the British court…
  Published - 18 May 10, 8:06pm
• FSA keeps schtum on RBS
  The FSA is unable to sink its teeth into Johnny Cameron and RBS. What we need is a national inquiryIs that it? Eighteen months after the collapse of the world's largest bank, the first formal investigation into what happened concluded today with the…
  Published - 18 May 10, 7:50pm
• If the directors don't subscribe why do they think shareholders should?
  With their jobs on the line already, demanding that Prudential directors put their homes at risk too might seem a little harsh, but their failure to raise the millions it would take to subscribe to their own rights issue raises two important question…
  Published - 18 May 10, 7:42pm
• The Business podcast: BA unions cry foul over legal ruling; plus how will George and Vince get on?
  A technicality prevents the British Airways strikes going ahead. But what does the ruling say about democracy and the power of the unions? At last, we have a new government which says it's serious about cutting the national overdraft. We discuss Geor…
  Published - 18 May 10, 2:30pm
• Hedge funds are quite big enough to look after themselves
  Despite their calls for special treatment, hedge funds are just fund managers who get paid moreIf ever there was a day to remind us that the alternative investment industry is big enough and ugly enough to look after itself, it was the eve of a contr…
  Published - 17 May 10, 8:03pm

Telegraph Finance

• Infinite growth on a finite planet? Easy-peasy!
  You'll have heard this before, no doubt: infinite growth is impossible on a finite planet. It's something of a mantra for environmentalists and is used as absolute proof that we're just going to have to do without that pesky economic growth thing. Th…
  Published - 3 days ago, 18 May 12, 12:31pm
• What do a British Conservative PM and a French Socialist President have in common? Quite a bit…
  David Cameron will have his first face-to-face meeting with newly elected French President Francois Hollande today, at a G8 summit in the US. There has been some fuss about Cameron and Hollande not getting along. Cameron snubbed Hollande during a vis…
  Published - 3 days ago, 18 May 12, 9:19am
• Market rally on Greek exit?
  Bank of America has a nice twist on a Greek exit, or "Grexit" as everybody now calls it. The euro would shoot up to $1.40 against the dollar (after first falling to $1.20 in the immediate panic). It is $1.27 now. Risk assets would enjoy a "powerful s…
  Published - 4 days ago, 17 May 12, 12:38pm
• Cameron should admit the truth about the UK economy
  Those hoping for something genuinely new from David Cameron's speech on the state of the UK economy will have been sadly disappointed. Naturally, he was keen to put his best foot forward. We've already cut the deficit by more than a quarter, he crowe…
  Published - 4 days ago, 17 May 12, 10:46am
• Eurozone is 'tearing itself apart', says Mervyn King. True, but the UK's problems are as intractable as ever
  Sir Mervyn King has always been wonderfully pithy in his analysis of complex economic situations. But he surpassed himself at today’s Bank of England Inflation Report press conference. The eurozone is “tearing itself apart”, he said. In three l…
  Published - 5 days ago, 16 May 12, 12:32pm
• Can we please just declare the end of 'peak oil' and start worrying about something important?
  Apparently something terrible happens when we get to peak oil. I've never really quite understood the argument myself, but when we've used half of all the oil then civilisation collapses or something. I'm not sure why this should happen: we don't sta…
  Published - 5 days ago, 16 May 12, 9:46am
• This is how the euro ends – not with a whimper but a bang
  With Greece unable to form a government and therefore now set on new elections, how's this going to pan out? Very badly, is the almost certain answer. Let's look first at the now odds on possibility of a Greek exit. The outcome of the last election w…
  Published - 5 days ago, 15 May 12, 4:21pm
• Appetiser cost of Greek exit is €155bn for Germany, France: trillions for meat course
  Eric Dor's team at the IESEG School of Management in Lille has put together a table on the direct costs to Germany and France if Greece is pushed out of the euro. These assume that relations between Europe and Greece break down in acrimony, with a fu…
  Published - 6 days ago, 15 May 12, 2:10pm
• As ever, it will be the lawyers who benefit most from a Grexit
  Little noticed in the last Greek sovereign debt restructuring was the fact that the new bonds were constituted under English law. Why was this, when the bonds are a liability of the Greek state and are denominated in euros? There's a simple answer. I…
  Published - 6 days ago, 15 May 12, 10:14am
• If Greece has to leave the euro, it will be because of the reckless decision to bail it out in the first place
  Why is Greece likely to leave the euro? It's not because it defaulted. If Greece had defaulted in late 2009 or early 2010, it would not have needed to leave the euro. It could have defaulted on its private sector bondholders, borrowed a bit short on…
  Published - 6 days ago, 15 May 12, 8:40am

Gideon Rachman

• newMerkel at the G8, and her row with Ukraine
  Angela Merkel has not had a good weekend. She was close to being isolated at the Group of Eight summit. Barack Obama, François Hollande and David Cameron all ratcheted up the pressure on Germany to go for “growth” in Europe. This the Germans su…
  Published - 9 hours ago, 20 May 12, 7:04pm
• Greece: a question of tough love
  Dr Jan Fidrmuc, Department of Economics and Finance and Centre for Economic Development and Institutions, Brunel UniversityAnti-austerity protestors take to the streets in central Athens earlier this year. Getty ImagesFollowing the rejection of…
  Published - 3 days ago, 18 May 12, 10:52am
• FT podcast: World Weekly with Gideon Rachman
  Greece in political limbo With Greece in political limbo ahead of a new election in June, what is the the economic and political future of that country and the eurozone? How feasible is for Greece to leave the euro, and how are other European countri…
  Published - 3 days ago, 18 May 12, 12:45am
• In the Picture: Greek exit?
  REUTERS/Kai PfaffenbachToday we’re looking at Greece. Yup, again. But over the last week, the possibility that the Mediterranean country of 11 million people might actually leave the eurozone – a scenario long considered taboo – has become inc…
  Published - 3 days ago, 17 May 12, 5:01pm
• The completely liberated masters of their destiny
  I just came across this revamped version of what purports to be North Korea’s official website. Even if it is not, and is just a fan site, it is a credit to what is described on the homepage as a genuine workers’ state in which “all the people…
  Published - 4 days ago, 17 May 12, 9:06am
• FT column: One bullseye cannot rescue Obama’s record
  By Gideon Rachman
  Published - 6 days ago, 15 May 12, 1:14am
• Running the Czech Republic
  This advertisement for the Prague marathon – which I photographed in the airport, this weekend – strikes me as having an unfortunate slogan. I know that Czechs are not terribly happy with the their government. But a nation that is still worried…
  Published - 6 days ago, 14 May 12, 5:11pm
• In the Picture: Greece and the eurozone crisis
  The eurozone crisis is back in focus this week. In a Bloomberg poll published on Thursday, 57% of 1,253 investors, analysts and traders who are Bloomberg subscribers said at least one country will abandon the euro by year-end.There was a scramble…
  Published - 9 days ago, 11 May 12, 6:28pm
• FT podcast: World Weekly
  Growth vs austerity in the eurozone The growth vs austerity debate has been a focal point of eurozone politics over the past weeks. With voters in France and Greece appearing to reject austerity in this weekend’s elections, are we beginning to see…
  Published - 11 days ago, 9 May 12, 11:40pm
• The end of Richard Lugar and of an era
  The defeat of Senator Richard Lugar in a Republican Party primary in Indiana is a further depressing sign of the death of centrism in the GOP. Lugar was a classic old-style, bipartisan Republican: solidly conservative in his outlook, but also willing…
  Published - 12 days ago, 9 May 12, 3:04pm

FTAlphaville

• newFTfm on AV
  Some highlights from Monday’s FTfm.EU rules threat to pensionsThe Association of British Insurers has said it fears pension products could be caught up in the EU’s packaged...
  Published - 10 hours ago, 20 May 12, 5:51pm
• The Weekender
  This week on FT Alphaville,- Remember the Chinese RRR cut? It was only Monday. But it wasn’t ‘easing’.- Some mystery liquidity providers popped up in the oil market....
  Published - 2 days ago, 18 May 12, 9:11pm
• It’s gotta close greenshoe!
  Update after the close: It closed green(shoe) at $38.23 according to Bloomberg data. But not until after a few moments close to $38.00, as seen below earlier…Facebook shares at pixel time,...
  Published - 2 days ago, 18 May 12, 7:51pm
• [JPM Whale-Watching Tour] Tracking trades down
  The last twenty-four hours have brought us some interesting insights into the JPMorgan chief investment office’s $2bn loss story. The FT revealed that the CIO has been a...
  Published - 2 days ago, 18 May 12, 6:14pm
• BoE goes ex-Posen
  This is careless. The Bank of England has managed to lose Adam Posen, the outspoken American dove on the Monetary Policy Committee. He’s off to the Peterson Institute in Washington,...
  Published - 2 days ago, 18 May 12, 5:15pm
• Another day, another SNB rumour
  Swiss franc traders have been pretty bored of late, with the euro/Swiss franc flatlining for months. But it seems they’ve had some rare excitement this week: someone out...
  Published - 2 days ago, 18 May 12, 4:46pm
• With Facebook, give thanks for greenshoes
  After an open of $42.05, against the $38 IPO price, Facebook stock quickly reverted to the sale price on Friday — at which level we presume those banks with the over-allotment mandate (MOST,...
  Published - 2 days ago, 18 May 12, 4:27pm
• Caption this, Zuckerberg edition
  Via the FT Tech liveblog. Winner possibly gets this…
  Published - 3 days ago, 18 May 12, 2:13pm
• 18/05/2012 (Before-FB)
  Is life as we know it gonna change after 11am New York time on Friday?Will Mark Zuckerberg be crowned emperor of the dweebs (just as Napoleon was crowned emperor of the French...
  Published - 3 days ago, 18 May 12, 12:57pm
• Spanish banks, wider still
  A flurry of short-covering, encouraged by rumours that the Spanish authorities might re-introduce a ban on short-selling, saw Spanish bank stocks bounce on Friday.But that “recovery”...
  Published - 3 days ago, 18 May 12, 12:30pm

Gavin Hinks

GT Emerging Markets

• Oil price and other cost factors are driving business to alternative-fuel vehicles
  The high price of oil is leading one in four business leaders to introduce, or consider introducing, alternative-fuel vehicles. Find out more about global business attitudes to ‘greening’ their fleets in Grant Thornton’s latest International Bu…
  Published - 4 days ago, 17 May 12, 10:08am
• China diary: Hong Kong’s high life – high rents, high competition, high-end luxury
  Ever wondered what it would be like having a business in Hong Kong? In my first post – our second from China – I highlight the differences between Hong Kong, China and the UK retail markets for the benefit of our UK clients looking at ways to tak…
  Published - 6 days ago, 15 May 12, 1:02pm
• China diary: Mass market bonanza for quality brands
  Welcome to our first diary post from China. Head of retail Barry Knight and I are currently travelling in China, visiting clients and evaluating the opportunities for UK businesses, especially in the retail consumer goods sector. We’re both plannin…
  Published - 11 days ago, 10 May 12, 9:00am
• Businesses bullish on overseas M&A in 2012
  Dynamic businesses seeking growth have retained their appetite for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in 2012 despite the ongoing economic challenges, according to our latest global survey of 12,000 business leaders in 40 economies.
  Published - 12 days ago, 9 May 12, 9:12am
• Global cleantech on ‘the cusp of something big’ as commerce drives green demand
  The main drivers in demand for cleantech products are increasingly commercial, according to Grant Thornton’s latest International Business Report (IBR) on the global cleantech industry. Get more information and a copy of the 20-page sector report b…
  Published - 19 days ago, 2 May 12, 10:49am

Start Up Donut

• The Apprentice: Lesson nine - more cheese less wine
  We’re in another transport hub this week on The Apprentice — and still no sign of an away-day anywhere. Lord Sugar has called the troops together at the champagne bar at St Pancras station. It’s six in the morning. Bit early isn’t it Lord S?…
  Published - 3 days ago, 18 May 12, 10:07am
• Storage Tips for Start Ups
  Whether you're starting a business or looking to grow an existing one, space is an important factor. And storage is key to ensuring your work area remains clutter-free, whether that’s in your home, premises or another location. Knowing your storage…
  Published - 5 days ago, 16 May 12, 8:47am
• Recruitment tips - the induction plan
  Do you have a formal induction plan for new recruits? An induction plan will help ensure that the initial impressions on the first day of a new job are positive and that the new employee starts off productively.Here are some points to consider as yo…
  Published - 7 days ago, 14 May 12, 9:08am
• The Apprentice: Lesson eight - the art of selling
  The candidates on The Apprentice are going to Waterloo Station this week to hear about the next challenge. They’re obviously hoping for a nice day out somewhere but Lord Sugar, Nick Hewer and Karren Brady are waiting for them in a smelly old railwa…
  Published - 10 days ago, 11 May 12, 11:58am
• How to survive beyond the start-up stage
  In the past 30 years I’ve set up three businesses. I started my current business, Stinkyink.com, on 22 April 2012 (yes, we were ten years old last month!), knowing nothing about ecommerce. To make matters much worse, within months of starting the b…
  Published - 11 days ago, 10 May 12, 8:40am
• How (not) to motivate your employees
  Shocking news for most small-business owners – it’s not about the money. In the discussions I have with the majority (but not all) of small-business owners, there is an assumption that employees are motivated most by money. “If I give them a pa…
  Published - 13 days ago, 8 May 12, 9:43am
• The Apprentice: Lesson seven - it's all about margins
  Lord Sugar is taking the candidates to his old stamping ground on this week’s The Apprentice.The candidates have to buy stock from an Essex wholesaler and sell it at local shopping centres and markets. It’s a simple task — but it’s guarantee…
  Published - 17 days ago, 4 May 12, 9:02am
• Why your business should hire an apprentice
  My company BCSG recently conducted some research to understand the attitudes smaller companies have towards hiring apprentices. We thought the results might be interesting in light of the government’s appointment of entrepreneur Jason Holt to revie…
  Published - 20 days ago, 1 May 12, 11:36am
• How to be an entrepreneur
  So you want to be an entrepreneur?  Before we figure out the ‘How’ we need clarity on the ‘Why’. One of the ingredients for entrepreneurial success is knowing the passion for what you do. When you have clarity on your ‘Why’ you can be pa…
  Published - 21 days ago, 30 Apr 12, 10:37am
• Are postal prices making businesses feel second class?
  If there were queues at your local Post Office last week, this is why: Royal Mail’s much-talked-about prices increases came into force today. The price of a first class stamp is up 30%, from 46p to 60p. Second class stamps have rocketed by an infla…
  Published - 21 days ago, 30 Apr 12, 10:06am