Headlines which caught my eye

There have been a few news items which have caught my eye over the last few days, by far the most important of these has been Manchester United’s win over Arsenal! Almost as important has been the results of a survey by the CIPD which seems to suggest that despite the recovery businesses are not looking to increase head count but instead are looking at making efficiency savings. This is no surprise as confidence remains low and a lot of the high street is trading at levels well below where they were a few years ago, there remains significant pressure on the cost base of many businesses. In my industry I am pretty certain that there will continue to be a push for more flexible workforce, with companies looking at “full time equivalents” as opposed to “full time staff” which will enable them to navigate any downturn in business.
The other thing which caught my eye was the head of Nissan wading into the debate over our possible exit from Europe. I have no firm opinion on the question of in or out as I have yet to study the implications. I suppose that my worry is that we are heading for a referendum with (I suspect) a large number of people potentially voting without coming close to understanding the implications. There needs to be a robust and transparent debate on the effects of such a vote on our our economy well ahead of any referendum but my concern is that this may well not happen.