EDITION 747
7 JANUARY 2019
As another week slips by, here are 10 things which caught my attention and may have escaped yours. This newsletter is sent to 50,000+ subscribers each Monday. Please share on social media and forward to your colleagues and friends so they can subscribe, learn and engage. I'd be very grateful if you did.
- How to be more mindful during the day. Many of us operate on autopilot at work, but the ability to maintain focus and concentration is a crucial skill. The good news is you can build this skill by incorporating mindfulness exercises into your day. [MORE]
- PM says critics of her deal are risking democracy. A YouGov poll, carried out for the People's Vote campaign which is demanding another referendum, suggests 75% of Labour supporters would prefer a final say on Brexit; 22% of all Britons back Mrs May's deal, rising to 28% among Leave voters; 53% of Britons believe they - instead of MPs - should be given the final say on Brexit, once those who responded "don't know" were removed; And among those who said they would vote in another referendum, the survey suggested 54% would back remaining in the EU, compared to 46% for Leave. Mrs May now has less than a fortnight to persuade
Parliament to back her deal. Mail on Sunday
- Festive divorce applications included 13 on Christmas Day. More than 400 people filed for divorce over the festive period, including 13 on Christmas Day. Official data shows HM Courts & Tribunals Service received 455 online divorce applications from Christmas Eve to New Year's Day, with 13 submitted on December 25. It was the first festive season since measures to streamline divorces via the internet were introduced. Daily Mail
- Fatcat Friday shines light on pay inequality. In the first three working days of 2019 top bosses will have earned more than the typical worker will earn all year. Research has found that the average pay of a FTSE 100 chief executive is £1,020 an hour. “Fat Cat Friday” is the date by which the average CEO of a FTSE 100 company trousers the equivalent take-home pay of a typical full-time worker in the UK. BBC
- What is Dry January and is it actually worth it? This month will see thousands of adults in the UK take part in Dry January. Participants vow to go 31 days without alcohol in a New Year tradition that has been endorsed by Cancer Research UK and Alcohol Concern. Alcohol Change UK says that in 2018, “88% of participants saved money, 71% had better sleep and more energy, and 58% lost weight”. The Guardian
- Most UK bosses think economy will decline in 2019. Most of the UK’s 500 largest companies say they expect Britain’s economic condition to decline in 2019 amid uncertainty over Brexit. In its annual “captains of industry” research into the views of bosses, Ipsos Mori found that 74% of the 100 people interviewed were pessimistic about the year ahead. This is up from 66% last year. Just 8% expect improvements this year. Financial Times
- Doctors advise parents to cut screen time before bed. The Royal College of Paediatrics is advising parents to ensure their children do not watch TV or use online devices within an hour of their bedtime in order to avoid sleep disruption. Meanwhile, a study led by University College London has linked high social media use with depression in teenagers. The Independent
- Include grandparents in family holidays, says minister. Grandparents should be taken on family holidays, says the minister responsible for tackling loneliness. Mims Davies, the new sport and civil society minister, said that communities had a “moral duty” to stop the elderly feeling abandoned. She said that British people could learn from how Mediterranean nations involve grandparents in their lives. A report has found that loneliness is as harmful to health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Sunday Telegraph
- Number 10 thought email was a fad. Newly declassified files in the National Archives include 1994 memos in which Downing Street officials wonder if they should start using email in order to seem as on-the-ball as the Clinton administration in the US. They were convinced email would be a flash in the pan. The Guardian
- The bottom line. Britons owe £72.5bn on credit cards with £400m added to the total in November alone, according to new data from the Bank of England. Households in the UK now each have an average of £2,688 unpaid on credit cards. The figure is 24% higher than on the eve of the financial crash. Credit cards are one of the most expensive means of borrowing. Office for National Statistics
|