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There is no escaping it: too much news is bad for you. It should come with a government health warning: “This intellectual diet is fine taken in small doses, and preferably in weekly instalments, via a well-balanced newsletter, such as 10 things from William Montgomery." So, as another week slips by, here are 10 things which caught my attention and may have escaped yours. Please feel free to share on social media and forward to your colleagues and friends so they can also subscribe, learn and engage. I would be very grateful if you did. William Montgomery 1. How to work your calendar to your advantage. Do you ever feel like your work calendar could use a cup of coffee? The calendar, as a business and an organisation tool, often comes to your rescue as your source of punctuality and productivity. But over the course, the schedule that once worked for you, might need a few tweaks and a revived approach. https://bit.ly/3BSzOAX 2. Public wants inflation tackled before tax cuts. Two thirds of voters believe it would be wrong for the government to prioritise tax cuts over tackling the cost-of-living crisis, a poll has found. The YouGov research found that 64% of voters thought the next prime minister should prioritise inflation, compared with 17% who wanted tax cuts. The news is uncomfortable for Tory leadership hopeful Liz Truss, who has said she would prioritise tax cuts. The same study found that voters do not think Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak would make a better PM than Boris Johnson up against Keir Starmer. The Times 3. UK faces protracted recession. The Bank of England warned the UK will fall into recession as it raised interest rates by 0.5 percentage points to 1.75%, the biggest interest rates in 27 years. In a dramatic set of forecasts for the economy, the Bank said inflation will surge above 13%, causing the worst squeeze on living standards for more than 60 years. Meanwhile, the regulator Ofgem has been accused of an “inhumane” move after its latest changes to the price cap meant energy bills could more than double to £4,200 a year by January. The Independent 4. What the base rate rise means to you. The BoE has raised the base rate by 0.5 percentage points to 1.75% to tackle inflation. It also predicted an economic downturn that is expected to bump the unemployment rate from 3.8% to 5.5% by 2024, likely leading to a record 5% fall in living standards. [1] Savers will see rates improve but inflation, currently at 9.4%, is eroding the value of savings. [2] Nearly two million homeowners on variable rate mortgages will see monthly repayments hiked. [3] Renters may feel the heat, as landlords could pass on higher borrowing costs to tenants. [4] Annuities, products providing a guaranteed income for life, will offer better value as rates rise. [5] Rates on credit cards may rise, meaning higher repayments for customers. The Guardian 5. Thinktank warning on vulnerable families. An impending recession will hit millions of the most vulnerable households, economists have warned. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research said households with no savings are set to double to 5.3m by 2024, while real wages will fall by 2.5% in 2022 and remain more than 7% below their pre-Covid trend beyond 2026. The independent think tank also said the number of households living pay day to pay day will almost double from 3.9m to 6.8m – a 25% rise by 2024. The i newspaper said the findings “call into question the impact of the government’s levelling up plans”. iNews 6. Critical NHS shortages. The NHS is facing “the greatest workforce crisis” in its history, and it is putting patients at serious risk, MPs have warned. A report by the cross-party Health and Social Care Select Committee found that NHS England is advertising for 38,972 nurses and 8,016 hospital doctors; but as many posts go unadvertised, the true number of vacancies could be as high as 50,000 and 12,000. In social care, 105,000 posts are unfilled. In April, it was revealed that the number of people waiting for hospital treatment in England reached a record high of almost 6.5 million; and demand for services is only set to grow: it is estimated that an extra 475,000 jobs will be needed in health by the early 2030s, along with 490,000 in social care. Poor pay is cited as a crucial cause of staff shortages in social care, while pension taper rates are blamed for forcing senior doctors to retire early. UK Parliament 7. First findings from four-day week trial. Some of the 3,300 workers taking part in the world's largest trial of a four-day working week are sharing their initial thoughts. Less than two months into a six-month-long experiment involving 70 UK-based companies, many managers are already calling it "life-changing," saying it gives them more time to manage chores and care for loved ones. The trial is testing out a 100:80:100 working pattern: 100% of the pay for 80% of the time, in exchange for 100% productivity. Participating companies will be able to decide whether to keep the new schedule or switch back at the end of November. CNN 8. Do smartphones ruin your memory? Many of us now rely on smartphones to store information, such as shopping lists and events reminders, but this isn’t necessarily eroding our memory skills. In fact, one study by researchers at University College London found this can actually free up space for a larger amount of less important information. However, McGill University reported that long-term use of GPS may reduce grey matter density in the hippocampus, which is associated with increased risk of certain forms of dementia. Other experts argue that more distractions from smartphones make us less present and therefore less likely to remember certain moments. The Observer 9. Is this the best job in the world? Sometimes life really is a beach. You can now apply to be a bookseller for a year on a luxury island in the Maldives, Making personalised book recommendations to guests and managing the day-to-day running of the shop on Kunfunadhoo island in the Indian Ocean will get you around £620 per month, free meals and accommodation, access to a gym and spa and watersports. No shoes are allowed on the remote island and staff have their own private beach. Who knows, you may even be inspired to write your own bestseller there. The Guardian 10. The bottom line. The number of Londoners fleeing the capital to get on the property ladder has reached a record high. Buyers spent £383,070 on average outside the capital, compared with the average price of £526,600 in London, The Telegraph |