Want job security in the age of AI? Get a state license – any state license

When I was in college and didn’t know what to do with my life, my dad offered this career advice: be a certified public accountant. Why?“Because,” he said. “People will always need their taxes done. They’ll always need financial advice. With a CPA license, you can always hang out a shingle and put food on the table

Don’t use ‘boilerplate’ reasons to justify big executive pay rises, UK firms warned

The UK’s largest listed companies have been warned against using “boilerplate” arguments to justify big executive pay increases by an influential group of shareholders.The Investment Association (IA) – whose members manage £10tn of assets – has told pay committees to avoid “benchmarking”: where companies argue higher pay is needed in order to match rivals and avoid bosses jumping ship for larger salaries and bonuses elsewhere.The IA – whose members include Schroders, Legal & General and Aviva – used its annual letter to London-listed companies to say that the “use of benchmarking on its own to justify increases in remuneration is not appropriate, as it can lead to a ratchet effect in the market”.It stopped short of naming any individual company but said it expected “well-substantiated” rationales for pay rises from remuneration committees.“To date, members have observed that some rationale disclosures have not met this expectation, with remuneration committees using boilerplate and generic justifications, often citing ‘competitiveness against peers’ or the need to ‘attract and retain talent’ without any further supporting information,” the letter said

Almost half of people using employment providers threatened with payment suspensions, new data shows

Almost half of all people using employment services received threats to suspend their payments in the last quarter, new data has revealed.The data from the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) showed a 23% increase in the number of payment suspension notices issued by Workforce Australia, with 618,000 issued from 1 July to 30 September 2025, up from from 504,000 in the previous quarter.It comes as advocates call for a pause in suspensions until the government can ensure the target compliance framework (TCF), the automated system that runs mutual obligations and has just been investigated by the commonwealth ombudsman, is working legally.In an October 2025 Senate estimates hearing, Senator Jess Walsh said the government knew Centrelink payment suspensions were causing harm, but defended leaving them on despite questions over whether they were used lawfully.Of the 618,000 payment suspension notices issued just by providers, 290,000 resulted in a temporary pause of payment

How many more times will the Bank of England rescue Rachel Reeves? | Richard Partington

In the economic gloom of Labour’s first year in power, Rachel Reeves has had a reliable shred of comfort to cling to: five times since the general election, the Bank of England has cut interest rates.This week, in all likelihood, the chancellor will get a sixth to shout about, as Threadneedle Street prepares to reduce borrowing costs in an early Christmas present that will be seized upon by the Treasury.The view in the City is that a festive cut on Thursday is odds-on. After last week’s disappointing October growth figures, the jobs market and consumer prices data due out on Tuesday and Wednesday – before the rates decision – are expected to confirm that inflationary pressures in the UK economy are fading.But while a cut will be good news for businesses, mortgage borrowers and the beleaguered occupants of Downing Street, attention will quickly shift to the prospects for 2026

‘The UK needs some media free of US control’: Comcast’s move for ITV starts to focus minds

The prospect of Comcast taking over ITV has prompted concerns about the impact on British public service broadcasting, a fact that Channel 4’s new chief executive, moving from a senior post at Sky, will be all too well aware.Sky’s advertising chief, Priya Dogra, will now be expected to lead the charge to block her former employer’s takeover plan to protect Channel 4.The proposed combination of Sky and ITV’s broadcasting operation would leave Channel 4 a relative commercial minnow when it comes to TV and digital ad sales, reigniting talk of the need to revisit some form of tie-up with the BBC for long-term survival.However, it is the potential ramifications on the future of news provision that are causing the most immediate alarm for many in the TV industry.The surprise news last month that Comcast, which owns assets including Universal Studios and bought Rupert Murdoch’s Sky for £30bn in 2018, is in talks to buy ITV’s broadcasting business makes commercial sense

Labour is procrastinating over policy as UK’s economy goes backwards | Phillip Inman

There is a heavy cloud hanging over Labour’s Christmas celebrations.The most recent figures show the economy is going backwards and worse, the slide is prompting recession talk in the corridors of City banks.If there is a recession, it will only be slight, but with unemployment rising and businesses reluctant to invest, the economy remains stuck in first gear.In this gloomy atmosphere, not many Labour MPs will feel comfortable donning paper hats and toasting their leaders.Especially not when Whitehall is dominated by a single activity – procrastination