Let's not neglect India

With the UK economy teetering on the brink of recession again, one can detect in some quarters a reaction, almost bordering on delight, that the so-called "Indian economic miracle" has suffered a few setbacks during the past few months.

It is true that the recent economic news from India has been disappointing.

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Unemployment is the big enemy

One of the most worrying consequences of the current economic malaise is the inexorable rise in unemployment in the UK.

In November, Government figures showed 2.62 million people without jobs. That is 8.3 per cent of the work-force, the highest over the past 15 years.

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Our aviation policy, it's really up in the air

Following last month's Cabinet reshuffle, one of the urgent priorities for the new Transport Secretary, Justine Greening, will be to complete the ongoing government review of aviation policy and set out a coherent and credible strategy.

This will be no easy task, especially given that prior to the last general election, the Conservatives ruled out the building of a third runway at Heathrow.

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Long past the time for women on board

In February, Lord Davies of Abersoch, the former Trade Minister, published his report Women on Boards. In it, he gave the chairmen of FTSE 350 companies until this month to set out the percentage of women they aim to have on their boards by 2013 and then 2015.

Lord Davies was responding to an invitation from the government to promote gender equality on the boards of listed companies.

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Wave goodbye to cheap energy rates

With the news continuing to be dominated by allegations over phone hacking and our minds turning to thoughts of sun-drenched beaches and fun-filled family holidays, we could be forgiven for having overlooked the recent decision by British Gas to increase the cost of gas by 18 per cent and electricity by 16 per cent.

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2012 could be a real money spinner

These are exciting times for the many of us who have applied for tickets for next year's London Olympic Games as we wait to see for which events we have been successful and, perhaps more importantly, how much of an impact our enthusiasm to witness this unique occasion is going to have on our bank balances.

As we do so, we could be forgiven for asking ourselves whether, at a time of substantial

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It's a long road back

There was palpable sense of relief that the official figures for gross domestic product (GDP) for the first quarter of the year did not show the UK as still being in recession.

However, with the economy growing by only 0.5 per cent during the period, they were not exactly a great cause for celebration either. If nothing else, it appears that the road to recovery is likely to be a long one.

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The problems and promise of investing in Russia

Having spent several years in the late 80s and early 90s campaigning for Soviet Jewry, it was somewhat remarkable to find myself recently chairing a panel discussion on investing in Russia.

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New year, new rules

As we wind down for the festive break, it seems almost rude to mention topics such as "bribery" and "corruption". However, with the new Bribery Act coming into force in April, it is critical that businesses are fully prepared for its implementation. Otherwise, they may find themselves with some unpleasant surprises.

The Bribery Act 2010 provides a complete overhaul of anti-corruption law in the UK by repealing the common law offence of bribery as well as various statutory offences dating as far back as 1889. Instead, we will now have four categories of offences:

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Chin up, everyone

As the summer draws to an end, we could be forgiven for feeling a slight winter chill as we read of stark warnings from government ministers, trade union calls for a "day of action" to protest public expenditure cuts and fears of a "double-dip" recession.

For those of us who witnessed the economic and political turmoil of the 1970s and 1980s, images of bulging picket lines, rubbish overflowing onto the streets, mass-unemployment and Denis Healey running cap in hand to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) quickly spring to mind.

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