The Games begin long before the Olympics
Dan Sherville gives an insight into a week at MRM, giving all the gossip from his working week while highlighting what news has interested MRM over the past seven days.
We’re now just seven days away from the Olympics, and not surprisingly, the final preparations have received a muted reception. Earlier in the week, the press filled column inches with news of the introduction of designated Olympic lanes. They’re in place as part of the Olympic Route Network – a series of roads linking all competition venues and key sites – and have already caused havoc.
The following photo from the Daily Mail shows motorists on Southampton Row in London encountering a bit of trouble when presented with the option of driving in a bus lane, an Olympic lane or on the wrong side of the road. Drivers caught in either the bus lane or the Olympic lane faced a £130 fine – which would you have chosen?
Our clients have also been looking at the impact of the approaching sporting event this week. Analysis by Brian Dennehy, managing director of FundExpert.co.uk, found that despite the spending power of an extra 11m visitors, the Games will fall short of delivering wide-spread economic benefits to the UK. And over the long term the outlook isn’t much better either, as any boost to manufacturing and construction has already occurred. To have a read of the full release, click here.
Also this week, Financial Adviser School released some interesting figures which suggest that workers are more interested in job satisfaction than money. The research showed that despite the economic downturn, almost nine out of ten people (87%) picked job satisfaction when asked to select what was important to them in a career, compared to 84% who chose money. For those currently searching for a new career – or perhaps a complete career change – why not take a look at the FAS website and see what they have to offer.
In other news, Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares were the top selling investment sector for an 11th consecutive quarter on independent platform provider, Cofunds. According to Q2 retail sales figures, the sector accounted for 42% of sales and five of the top 10 selling funds on the platform. Click here to see the full release and sales list.
The big news from MRM HQ this week was the announcement that our very own Michael Taggart has been promoted to the position of director. Well done Michael!