Cox: Trump’s labor secretary is more about capital 30 Jan 2017 Burger-joint entrepreneur Andrew Puzder, the nominee to run the U.S. Labor Department, co-wrote a 2010 book offering a turgid - if mercifully brief - manifesto on how to get people working. But Puzder's jobs may lack the qualities the government agency was created to champion.
Immigration ban hands U.S. firms dilemma 30 Jan 2017 Tech firms, Goldman, Starbucks and others may become political targets after criticizing a temporary White House block on citizens from seven mostly Muslim countries. But silence may alienate customers and future workers, especially among younger, digitally connected generations.
StanChart takes subtle spin in the revolving door 30 Jan 2017 New public affairs head Tracey McDermott is not the lender’s first supervisor-turned banker. Boss Bill Winters previously helped rewrite UK banking rules. While hiring former watchdogs is not ideal, the potential conflicts are less than they would be at a more UK-centric peer.
GM rolls Trump-friendly buzzword off factory floor 17 Jan 2017 The automaker recently harangued by the president-elect for building cars in Mexico is bragging about "insourcing" 6,500 jobs to America. CEO Mary Barra isn't the first to use the term, but is ahead of the curve as more firms try to curry favor with the next commander-in-chief.
Theresa May takes a Brexit big bath 17 Jan 2017 New company bosses often take major writedowns to give themselves a fresh start and flatter future earnings. In saying Britain could walk away from the EU’s single market, the prime minister is on the same page. Investors can now use the clean-break scenario as their base case.
Amazon repackages order for 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. 12 Jan 2017 The man moving in wants delivery of jobs and the e-commerce titan says it can supply 100,000 of them by mid-2018. That sounds impressive, but also tracks Amazon's workforce growth of late. It's just the sort of box with a bow, however, that seems to satisfy the intended recipient.
Germany raises bar in fight for equal pay 12 Jan 2017 A new law will force companies to tell female employees how much their male equivalents earn. Companies complain it’s clumsy and costly. But they only have themselves to blame: despite anti-discrimination rules and voluntary pledges, the gender pay gap is still unacceptably wide.
Ma’s job offer to Trump is no Chinese peace pipe 11 Jan 2017 Alibaba founder Jack Ma met with the U.S. president-elect and pledged to create 1 mln jobs. Trump, well-pleased with this tribute, says he and the Chinese e-commerce tycoon will do "great things" together. There is less to both statements than meets the eye.
Obama leaves Trump with a tough job on jobs 6 Jan 2017 Creating nearly 16 mln new positions since the post-crisis nadir is pretty good. So is an unemployment rate under 5 pct. Not all labor indicators are so positive, but wages may finally be on the march. The new president's bold plans could clash with late-cycle economic realities.
Germany’s thriving job market no solace for Merkel 3 Jan 2017 Unemployment has fallen to its lowest since 1981, and the number of people in jobs is at a record. Chancellor Angela Merkel presided over this happy state but will struggle to leverage it in upcoming elections. Voters are more focused on less predictable flows of migrants.
Fund manager pay will be next to feel the squeeze 22 Dec 2016 Low returns, lacklustre performance and the growth of cheaper index-tracking funds are squeezing fees. That in turn means lower revenue and margins. To placate shareholders, asset managers will have to follow the example set by investment banks – and pay their people less.
Globalization backlash misses real danger: robots 20 Dec 2016 Voters are rewarding nativist politicians. But campaign promises to bring back manufacturing jobs will fail to deliver. That's because the bogeyman is automation, not open borders. Fighting past wars will render governments flat-footed in tackling current challenges.
Trump’s AC activism more hot air than cold jobs 1 Dec 2016 The president-elect is touting a deal to keep over 1,000 jobs at heating and aircon maker Carrier in Indiana, after blasting a planned move to Mexico during his campaign. It's a partial win that cost a state subsidy. Trump will milk the PR, but as policy it won't easily scale.
IBM understands the art of the deal 16 Nov 2016 Boss Ginni Rometty pitched President-elect Donald Trump with a job-training program, IT efficiency and a tax cut. They'd be good for IBM, and maybe even America. Conspicuously missing from her letter, however, is any mention of how Watson is bound to displace many workers.
Saudi’s women are its untapped economic resource 15 Nov 2016 In a society dominated by men, religion and petrol, women are very slowly wresting a few freedoms. The kingdom could help the economy by promoting more gender equality. This would be a more effective way of controlling its destiny than trying to influence the price of oil.
Global economic prospects look worse for women 1 Nov 2016 Even in highly equal Norway, new data shows women are barely present in some industries. These are exactly the sort of sectors that will benefit from a revival of government-backed spending programmes. Well-intentioned economic policies risk spreading their fruits unevenly.
German labour law not so bad, unless you’re a bank 13 Oct 2016 Only in Venezuela and China is it harder to sack workers. Teutonic industrial companies have learned to cope and job creation is booming. The only catch is that Germany’s labour-friendly rules are ill suited to the generous pay and hire-and-fire culture of global finance.
ING’s partial London confidence vote stacks up 13 Oct 2016 The Dutch lender is moving 60 staff to the UK capital even as Brexit fears push rivals to ponder leaving. London's financial centre status and talent pool remain big draws. And by relocating only execution-focused traders rather than sales staff, ING caps its downside.
Britain faces uphill battle taming gig economy 11 Oct 2016 About 14 million UK workers do a new type of casual, no-strings job. Business likes the looser arrangements, but so too do most giggers. With workers’ rights a priority, Theresa May will struggle to address the downsides of the new age without hitting some of its benefits.
U.S. jobs give Fed both cover and headache 7 Oct 2016 The economy added 156,000 jobs last month. That's decent but not stellar, allowing Janet Yellen to hold rates steady a week before the Nov. 8 presidential election. But wages and labor participation rose, giving Donald Trump enough to make the Fed a political punching bag.