For those of you who don’t follow me on Twitter (RedStarKim), I have selected some of my recent tweets which may be of interest to those in the legal, property and accountancy professions. If you want further information, you’ll need to see the sources, references and links to full articles on Twitter.
Economic, social and market changes
• Personal lending fell by £600m in July to £1.457trillion – first fall since 1993. Mortgage lending down by £400m
• Sharpest fall in business investment in 44 years shocked economists yesterday
• From October 2009 single parents must seek work when kids reach 12 years (currently they receive benefits til their children are 16). By 2010 Gov plans to reduce to seven years
• National Minimum Wage rates are to rise from October 2009, with the minimum rate for workers aged 22 and over rising to £5.80 an hour
• Survey shows business confidence increases
• Changing markets – Six tips for SMEs to reduce your fear of the future
• Women graduates more likely to be working
• 1 in 6 under 24 year olds out of work. Unemployment at highest level for 14 years – 7.8 %
• Turnover of fortune 500 companies is 4x faster than it used to be
• Investment banking, on life support last autumn, is booming again as companies and governments raise vast amounts of fresh capital
• Every small UK business will now have free access to thousands of lower-value (below £100,000) government contracts
• Recent research by Microsoft says that over next 25 years the UK workplace will be dominated by women
• Exeter University research – Businesses trying to rebuild after crash more likely to employ women (more conciliatory and less abrasive)
• Lending to small businesses rose by £391 million in July
• Blogged: Breakdown of the family life cycle: Sad graduates, happy 55+s and work free families
London
• London dropped 19 places in ranking of the world’s most expensive cities due to sterling’s devaluation
• The hiring freeze in the City of London is beginning to thaw, according to recruiters
• Tokyo most expensive city for expats: London ranked 16th
Legal market developments
• Law firms enjoy vintage year despite dip in profits
• 56% fee-earners/support staff say their goal is to be partner (46% last year).
• Bar Standards Board warning over ABSs
• Billable hour RIP?/Flat fees a growing trend among firms big and small
• Lawyers Viewed Negatively by Most Americans
• Leading (legal) real estate practices shrink by 18 per cent as recession bites
• Earlier Facebook exchange on why lawyers still fear the word ‘selling’
• £26m of London NHS litigation bill (£73m) was maternity related
• Surge in libel actions
• Blogged: Rural market – Lawyers follow surveyors and agents
• Blogged: UK top 20 law firms and other winners and losers
• Cold calling leaves solicitors at risk of conduct breach
• Stunned at the fact that 15,000 students each year are accepted to study law as undergraduates in England.
• Intellectual property
o Patent Denials on the rise
o International trade mark fees cut by 1/3
• Family law
o Separating couples forced to consider mediation under Ministry of Justice plan
o Pannone found London/South East pro-wife and North pro-husband.Survey: people spend just 2 minutes looking at law firm websites
o How will lawyers manage the Conservative’s proposed three month “cooling off” period for divorcing couples? Diversify into counselling?
o UK Courts Pre-nup upheld decision – The Courts giveth, the Courts taketh away (£5.85m)
Property market developments
• House price rise hits 5-year high
• Mortgage approvals from major high street banks rose to the highest level since February 2008
• Colliers CRE recruits Asson for corporate occupier expansion
• $76m first half loss for Cushman & Wakefield
• Developing a “share index” to measure cross firm collaboration and cross selling in property and legal partnerships
• Estate agents charge more for HIPs (Freehold house £344-£413) than direct providers (£189-£380). Except Savills (approved supplier – £292)
• Carter Jonas – enquiries for commercial properties are up by 26%
• Knight Frank – Prime Central London Residential Index – 07/09 prices rise for the 4th month, led by overseas demand
• Cluttons forecasts late summer increase in London property for sale
Accountancy market developments
• Auditor institute warns against conflict
• Smaller firms clean up as recession sees audit clients shun the Big Four
• Accountancy fees comparison site launched
• ICAEW claims recession is over
• Boom in audit tendering as companies change auditors in a bid to drive down costs
• Big accountancy firms see consulting as a key area for growth
• Bank reform will never work unless you tackle accountants
Social marketing
• 73% of marketers are using Web 2.0 technologies, an increase of almost 10 percent
• 69% of respondents report that their companies have gained measurable benefits from Web 2.0
• Young People Are Flocking to Twitter
• How to Use Twitter Hashtags for Business
• What are the business models for influence and reputation – today and in the future?
• Twitter Flew Above The 50 Million Uniques Mark For the First Time in July
• Clickstreams: What They Are and Why You Should Track Them
• Mobile technology adds 15 hours to the working week
• 20% Increase in Companies Blocking Social Media Sites
• 10 things B2B companies can do to be more social now
• Two-Thirds of Marketers Now Use Social Media
• Learned today that the average age of LinkedIn users is 43. & it is a highly effective tool for executive search
• Twitter follower numbers as a proxy of influence – what comes next in measuring influence?
• Ofcom/Deloitte research shows youngsters losing interest in social networking and Twitter is for over 25s
• New study finds correlation between social media and financial success
• How to build your personal brand on LinkedIN
Miscellaneous (Innovation, marketing, relationships and management)
• Measuring global innovation by patents filed and granted…new infographic
• CIPD finds more organisations using mentoring as professional guidelines for coaches approach
• Remember the rule of good relationships: five positive comments to each negative one
• Written for different “partnerships” but good advice on conflict management
• Californian psychology research found a genetic link between physical pain and social rejection. Explains why some hate networking/pitching?
• Blogged: Top 10 tips for organising the perfect lunch/dinner roundtable discussion
• Blogged: Real CRM – 20 Top Tips
• FAQ: 16 top tips on remembering names when networking
• FAQ: What is great leadership?
• Making finishing touches to the “MArketing Drivers And Metrics” (MADAM) single sheet executive report
