Slow, slow, quick quick quick

by Katerina | Jan 29, 2024 | News

Almost a hundred years ago, a character in Ernest Hemingway’s first novel asked a much-misquoted question: “How did you go bankrupt?”. The famous reply was: “Two ways, gradually and then suddenly.” Many individuals hastily completing their tax returns this week,...

January 2024 Newsletter: Stubborn inflation refuses to rule out recession

by Katerina | Jan 24, 2024 | News

Just when we thought UK inflation was steadily on its way down, and the retreat becoming a central support of the government’s pre-election road to rehabilitation, then comes the first disappointing figure for ages: a rise from 3.9% to 4.0% between November and...

Universities must get real with numbers to avoid disaster

by Katerina | Jan 17, 2024 | News

Britain’s local councils are not the only institutions heading for a financial iceberg. A number of the nation’s universities may also sink this year, saddled with debt and competing unrealistically for bright students. There are somewhere between 130 and 166...

Letter from London – UK political outlook 2024

by Katerina | Jan 9, 2024 | News

In the months ahead UK politics will be dominated by relentless speculation as to the date of the forthcoming General Election. The quaint – or even ‘working’ – assumption underpinning such feverish chatter is that a sitting Prime Minister has...

Chill wind blows harder in the High Street

by Katerina | Jan 4, 2024 | News

Incoming emails this week as we drift back to work provide a clear reminder that the high street has moved firmly online. The huge volume of messages from what are now web-first retailers seem to eclipse anything relating to work, promising big reductions, free...