market

Coronavirus is our chance to craft a fairer jobs market

By Linda J. Dodson 21 hours ago

For businesses, there are a number of strategic implications. Those whose sales and operations span the entire country, or several customer segments, will need to reimagine products and sales offerings to match the large-scale shifts in consumer incomes, attitudes and behaviours.

At the same time, the highly different effects on local labour markets and specific occupational categories may create opportunities for companies to reconfigure their talent base – for example, by locking in flexible ways of working and productivity, reskilling employees, and hiring in the newly unemployed.

A glance at history reminds us that rapid economic and social disruptions, and

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Chinese market becomes last best hope in virus-ravaged world

By Linda J. Dodson 22 hours ago

BEIJING — Toyota Motor has been quicker than rivals to bounce back in China after the new coronavirus all but shut down the economy, with the Japanese automaker boosting output on the year here in April.

Tatsuro Ueda, its CEO for China, has sent a flurry of directives from the headquarters in Beijing to production sites across the country to get vehicles to as many customers as possible. Toyota seeks to capitalize on stronger demand for personal autos as consumers worry about catching the virus on public transit.

But, like many companies, it also has few alternatives with the pandemic

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China-US clash over stock market rules casts doubt over $1tn of listings

By Linda J. Dodson 2 days ago

HONG KONG — Escalating tensions between the world’s two largest economies have taken on a new edge with a proposed audit rule for U.S.-listed Chinese companies, which threatens to restrict their access to American capital markets.

U.S. senators last month approved a bill that could push companies off American stock markets if they fail to comply with the country’s regulatory audits for three consecutive years. Chinese officials have said that the bill would harm the interests of both Washington and Beijing and that political forces in the U.S. are pushing the two powers into a new Cold War.

Shares in

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Property hunters swap London for the south coast as demand soars after market reopens

By Linda J. Dodson 1 week ago

The situation for the agents selling property is bleak: agency Foxtons’ sales commissions between March 23 and May 15 were 61pc down year-on-year, while those for lettings dropped by 40pc.

The new surge in demand that has emerged since lockdown is unlikely to maintain momentum. Richard Donnell, of Zoopla, said: “The Covid crisis and 50 day lockdown have created an unexpected one-off boost to housing demand.”

People have been spending more time at home and have had time to re-evaluate what they want, he added. But he does not expect the growth to continue. “The scale of the rebound …

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