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Reduced hours for same pay increased work-life balance by 24%, cutting stress levels and boosting commitment No comment yet.
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The energy group says profits have been hit by £80m as temperatures affect power and demand.
Graham Watson's insight:
An interesting reminder of one of the drawbacks of renewable energy, in this case, wind power. The recent hot spell has increased the demand for power but removed the capacity of SSE's wind capacity to generate it.
This is something that plagues the sector but might be overcome by exploiting a broader portfolio of renewable resources perhaps?
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The European Commission has claimed Android unfairly extended Google's dominance of search.
Graham Watson's insight:
There's the possibility of Google being finned a record amount today if the European Commission deems that it has used its Android OS in such a way as to restrict competition in the search engine market, which has implications for all sorts of related markets.
It's one of those tough decisions - does Google's size and the relative lack of competition deliver more or fewer benefits than competition. We shall see what the European Commission rules...
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FTSE 100 figures remain static, while FTSE 250 companies produce a sharp drop
Graham Watson's insight:
A follow-up to an earlier 'scoop' that highlighted that lack of progress towards greater gender equality - more evidence, from Cranfield University, that there's been a decline in the number of women in the boardroom.
This really is a retrograde step - I've always said that the law of diminishing marginal returns applies to this issue in a pernicious way, implying that it will get harder to eradicate sources of inequality over time. However, for the position to be worsening isn't something that I foresaw, and this sort of thing is worrying.
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An inferior good is a good or service where your demand goes down when your income goes up, and vice versa
Graham Watson's insight:
More excellence from Marginal Revolution University: inferior goods. What are? And do they actually exist? There's little evidence for them.
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But a report warns there will be "winners and losers" with many roles set to change.
Graham Watson's insight:
At last, sense on AI.
Much analysis of automation falls foul of the 'lump of labour' fallacy, that effectively says there are a given number of jobs to go round, and, if machines take them, there will be more people unemployed.
It's nonsense, technology is both a substitute for labour and complemented by it - we now have the highest absolute level of employment in the UK, in part because of the rise of technology. And this PwC report gets that right. What are of greater interest perhaps, are the distributional effects of this.
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Accommodation service told it needs to be clearer on total cost including fees and charges
Graham Watson's insight:
Regulation - it seems that Airbnb haven't been playing ball with their pricing policy, not including a range of charges on their current website to the detriment of customers, according to EU competition authorities. I look forward to getting compensation in due course, then.
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Number of people starting an apprenticeship fell by 34% in first three terms of 2017-18
Graham Watson's insight:
The definition of "government failure"?
A very good example - the Apprenticeship Levy - which has seen a collapse in the number of people starting apprenticeships. However, I'm not sure that I agree with the calls to revamp the scheme - there's an earthy Northern saying: "You can't polish a turd".
It might be applicable in this instance.
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Living standards are in danger of being held back because a global resurgence in protectionism could undo the benefits brought about by slashing trade tariffs in the past, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has warned.
Graham Watson's insight:
One for the "Well, I never..." file.
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The cold war between 21st Century Fox and Comcast over ownership of Sky has finally turned hot, as this evening the US cable operator swooped in with a £26bn bid, hours after the Murdoch camp improved its own offer.
Graham Watson's insight:
The Sky takeover battle is hotting up - Comcast have now raised their bid to £26bn. Beware 'the winner's curse'...
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The culture secretary will allow a deal after Fox made concessions including selling Sky News.
Graham Watson's insight:
The Fox bid for Sky has been cleared - with one or two concessions from Fox - in order to try to maintain competition in the market for news, satisfying the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) that there will be sufficient media plurality going forward.
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Starbucks is to charge customers a 5p levy for paper cups across all 950 stores in Britain, in a bid to reduce single-use paper and plastic waste.
Graham Watson's insight:
Is this an example of coffee retailers trying to head of government intervention by engaging in a spot of self-regulation? Or is it part of their profit-maximizing behaviour in a competitive market?
Either way, it must be a serious issue if Starbucks are now starting to charge customers for paper cups.
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Daimler is teaming up with Bosch to launch a small fleet of driverless taxis in California next year.
Graham Watson's insight:
More competition in the driverless car sector, with the news that Mercedes owner, Daimler, are looking at launching a fleet of driverless taxis in California. |
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Consumer group Which? says up to a third of plastic packaging in supermarkets is not easily recyclable.
Graham Watson's insight:
Another little 'green' story - Which? has looked at the recyclability to supermarket packaging and found that a third of it isn't easily recyclable, with discounter Lidl found to be the worst offender.
The consumer group are keen to make recycling labels compulsory. But is this good economics? Some thinking for you...
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From
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The European Commission has claimed Android unfairly extended Google's dominance of search.
Graham Watson's insight:
The extent of the European Commission fine has been revealed as 4.3 billion euros - $5bn, £3.8m. It represents the largest fine ever imposed by the regulator against a single firm.
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Cap will come into effect this winter unless one of the big six firms issues legal challenge
Graham Watson's insight:
To tap into the zeitgeist: it's coming home!
This Guardian article highlights the fact that the proposed price cap in the energy sector looks like being introduced in the winter, unless one of the Big Six energy companies challenges it.
However, whether this is good economics or not is moot.
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The European Union's financial system will come off worse in a no-deal Brexit, Mark Carney told MPs, as another chaotic day in Parliament threatened to tip Britain closer to a scenario he said would also have “big economic consequences” at home.
Graham Watson's insight:
Reality, or conveniently in line with editorial line?
The Telegraph covers Mark Carney's appearance before the Treasury Select Committee to seize on his pronouncement that the economic effects of Brexit are likely to be worse for the EU than the UK. I'm not convinced...
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Are executives being rewarded for insecure work and wage theft? Sure looks like it
Graham Watson's insight:
An Australian perspective on executive pay, one of my favourite issues. And how nice to find that New South Wales still has a Fabian Society. Unless Osmond Chiu is its only member.
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Victorian concept of the ‘industrial district’ could protect the UK from the worst of Brexit
Graham Watson's insight:
Economies of scale. Network effects. Call it what you will. Cambridge has it, according to this Guardian piece.
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The ride hailing firm is being investigated over a complaint about gender inequality, the BBC understands.
Graham Watson's insight:
Uber is back in the dock for gender discrimination: and if the article is correct, it seems perfectly reasonable for its record on the issue to be subject to close scrutiny.
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Revival of last eight coal plants when ‘beast from the east’ hit Britain proved to be brief
Graham Watson's insight:
Guardian squared.
The Guardian celebrates the fact that the UK has passed 1,000 hours without any electricity being coal fired. I imagine that this is a major cause of celebration in Guardian Towers. Of course, it's also good news for the environment and represents a major shift in the pattern of electricity generation, and another indicator of the power of markets.
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Department of Justice move comes after a judge rejected its arguments over competition and prices.
Graham Watson's insight:
An American angle on the rise of the mega-firm - with the news that the US Department of Justice is appealing against the $80bn AT&T - Time Warner merger. The DoJ are going to argue that the deal damages competition and will have an adverse effect on prices, both against consumer interests.
However, it might be a good prompt to think about ways that large firms can both enhance and diminish economic welfare.
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The price of Brent crude sinks almost 7% to $74.30 a barrel after Libya said it will boost supplies.
Graham Watson's insight:
D&S. Basics.
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The billion pound gamble to create the world’s largest competitive water market in Britain has been branded a failure after only a meagre number of businesses opted to switch to a new supplier.
Graham Watson's insight:
Government failure in the water industry? It would seem so.
This Utilitywise research into the introduction of competition to the commercial part of the water industry is a demining indictment of the relative merits of competition. As the article highlights, "the £421m estimated cost of the market overhaul has shaved just £8m in total off non-domestic water bills in the last year.".
Factor in the longer-term costs of stabilising the market, and the net welfare position doesn't seem to be a favourable one.
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The free rider problem describes when someone benefits from a good or service without paying for it
Graham Watson's insight:
An essential part of understanding why public goods aren't provided by the free market, or why it is difficult to tackle externalities, or why shareholders are reluctant to tackle managerial under-performance is a grasp of the Free Rider Problem.
This Marginal Revolution University clip might help. |
This sort of article is exactly what I want my students to my reading. It asks all sorts of interesting questions about productivity, employee motivation and how to modernize the world of work. However, equally, it might be asked, is this model universally applicable - and here the really interesting thinking begins.
Could schools and hospitals do this? What about other sectors of industry? I suspect that it is feasible, but we're still some way from Keynes' prediction that we'd have five days of leisure time and two days of work per week by this time.