EDITION 925
27 JUNE 2022

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
Editor and CEO of TEN

1. How to use uncertainty to your advantage. Uncertainty can be anxiety-inducing, whether it is due to current world events — like the global pandemic or the ongoing economic crisis - or personal career struggles. However, people often forget that uncertainty and possibility are two sides of the same coin. https://bit.ly/3HY2U34

2. CBI boss warns of recession. Britain is “definitely” heading for a recession, the outgoing president of the CBI has said. Lord Bilimoria said households are “tightening their belts” as the Office for National Statistics reported inflation of 9.1% in May. He dismissed the argument that tax cuts would push up prices further, saying: “Helping businesses now will not fuel inflation. You need to generate demand consumers are already beginning to tighten and not spend. You need to encourage spending.” The Telegraph

3. Inflation brings “triple” joy to pensioners. Price inflation in the UK was 9.1% in the year to May, the highest rate in 40 years. The Bank of England raised interest rates by 0.25 points to 1.25%, its fifth consecutive rise. The Treasury confirmed that it will reinstate the “triple lock” on uprating state pensions next year, meaning that payments will rise in line with this September’s CPI inflation rate. The BoE forecasts that the rate will be about 10% – vastly higher than the 2% increases the Government is offering public-sector workers. It means that the full new state pension will exceed £10,000 a year for the first time. State benefits will also rise. The Daily Mail

4. Brexit worsening living crisis. Britain’s cost of living crisis is being made worse by Brexit, according to a new study. Instead of the expected effect of narrowly reducing exports to the European Union, Brexit has “more broadly reduced how open and competitive Britain’s economy is”, the joint report by the Resolution Foundation think tank and the London School of Economics concluded. The researchers also found that the immediate impact of Brexit has been a “depreciation-driven inflation spike... and business investment falling”. The Times

5. Drivers who kill could receive life sentences. Drivers who kill could receive life sentences as part of changes coming into force this week. Judges will be able to hand down life sentences to dangerous drivers who kill and careless drivers who kill while under the influence of drink or drugs. The current penalty for each crime is a maximum prison sentence of 14 years. The changes come into force as part of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act. The proposed law change was first announced in 2017 and comes into effect on Tuesday. BBC

6. Good news story of the week. Postmen will call in on vulnerable people as part of their rounds during a pilot scheme in Northumberland which could be expanded nationally. “Because we go everywhere, every day, our great, trusted team sees things that others don’t,” Simon Thompson, the Royal Mail chief executive, said “At the moment, we do this quite informally but actually we could do this formally to provide a unique service to society and our customers”. The Times

7. Will four-day week solve labour crisis. Could a four-day working week be the secret to employee retention in an increasingly tight labour market? As companies scrabble to fill roles, and flexible working becomes increasingly sought after, some companies say four-day weeks have helped them keep staff. Our members have told us the shorter week had increased retention, while remote working had built trust. Businesses trialling a four-day work week have also told the BBC that profits and profitability were up. Editor

8. Vienna ‘most liveable city’. Vienna has been named as the world’s most pleasant place to live, according to an annual report. The Austrian capital grabbed the top spot from Auckland, which sank to 34th place due to  New Zealand’s pandemic restrictions. A report said of Vienna that “stability and good infrastructure are the city’s main charms for its inhabitants, supported by good healthcare and plenty of opportunities for culture and entertainment.” London was the world’s 33rd most liveable city. The Economist

9. Are you ready for 2,500-word tweets? Twitter has announced that a select few users can now publish 2,500 word 'notes' on its platform. It is the tech firm's most significant policy shift since it upped the character limit for tweets from 140 to 280 characters in 2017. Twitter said that a "small group of writers" in the UK, US, Canada and Ghana would be testing notes over the next two months. Editor

10. The bottom line. Children from England’s poorest areas are five times more likely to be obese by the time they leave primary school than those from the richest areas. People in the lowest income group are more than twice as likely to develop diabetes than those in the highest. A man from the top 10% of postcodes for affluence will live, on average, 9.7 years longer than a man from the bottom 10%. The Guardian