1 UK grows 0.8% in Q1 of 2014 (Katie Allen in The
Guardian) Britain's economy picked up pace in the first quarter of this year
but not quite as fast as economists had been expecting. The Office for National
Statistics said on Tuesday that GDP expanded by 0.8% in the first quarter after
0.7% growth in the final three months of last year. That was below economists'
forecast of 0.9%.
The year-on-year growth rate was 3.1%, the fastest
in six years, but again below forecasts for 3.2% growth. The economy is still
smaller than it was before the recession hit in 2008 but analysts said it was
now on track to make up all the lost ground by the middle of this year.
Although there were signs the recovery was
broadening, with even the battered construction sector returning to growth in
the first quarter, the ONS said the UK economy still remains 0.6% below its
pre-crisis peak. Without the drag from a shrinking oil and gas sector the
economy was 0.3% bigger than that pre-crisis peak, statisticians added. George
Osborne seized on the figures as confirmation that the recovery was well under
way.
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/apr/29/uk-economy-grew-gdp-2014
2 Growth is a worry at Twitter (Nicole Perlroth in
The New York Times) Twitter is struggling to convince Wall Street that it is
still a company with plenty of potential to grow. In its second earnings
announcement as a public company, Twitter said it had more than doubled
revenues, beating its own forecasts and the expectations of investment
analysts. But the social network’s stock fell more than 11 percent in after-hours
trading because the number of people who joined it did not increase as fast as
many had hoped.
Wall Street, it appears, is more worried about
Twitter’s ability to add users and keep them engaged than about its ability to
increase revenues. In the last two quarters, that has been a problem. Twitter
said it had 255 million monthly users globally in March, up 5 percent from 241
million at the end of December, which ended a quarter in which monthly active users
rose less than 4 percent.
But most disconcerting for shareholders is that
Twitter made $1.44 in advertising revenue for every 1,000 timeline views, down
from $1.49 in its previous quarter. That may be the best marker of Twitter’s
ability to make money from its platform, and in the first quarter it was
trending down. In a call with analysts, Twitter’s executives attributed some of
that to seasonality because the fourth quarter tends to be the most profitable.
Twitter’s revenue in the first quarter, which ended
March 31, was up 119 percent to $250 million from $114 million in the first
quarter of 2013. Twitter posted a net loss of $132 million, compared with a
loss of $27 million a year ago. Adjusted earnings, however — which exclude
stock-based compensation and other expenses — were $183,000, or about
break-even per share, compared with a $10.5 million loss a year ago.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/30/technology/twitter-revenue-jumps-but-user-figures-worry-wall-st.html?hpw&rref=technology&_r=0
3 Workplaces with 'toxic' environments (Kim Thompson
in San Francisco Chronicle) Do you think your workplace might be toxic? Most
people spend the majority of their lives at work, and studies repeatedly show happy
employees are more productive. Companies that treat their employees well will earn
huge dividends compared to those that dismiss and ignore their workforce.
However, under siege to reduce expenses and stay afloat amid the rising cost of
doing business, some working environments have turned into toxic cultures that
make the workplace almost unbearable.
Do these comments sound
familiar?: If I don’t leave my job, I will lose my mind. I feel like I am in
prison. I don’t have a life anymore; it’s all work. My boss is making me crazy.
Everyone around me is negative.
If so, there is a strong possibility you are hearing
a description of a toxic work environment.
To some, the word toxic may seem too extreme for their workplace, while
others heave a sigh of relief to discover someone has put a label on the way
they are feeling.
A toxic workplace is one that causes emotional and
physical reactions over a period of time that diminishes productivity and
happiness. Quite literally it resembles poison to your career and well-being.
The good news is that a toxic work environment is not permanent one and
recovery takes place once you identify the problem and develop a plan of
action.
Here are five ways to tell if your workplace is
becoming toxic to your well-being: Increased anxiety: 1You live in a constant
state of worry that you are doing something wrong. 2 Anger: This can include an
increased level of irritability, being short-tempered with those around you,
being less patient or participating in blaming others. 3 Lack of control: This
can happen over time when you are overwhelmed with work pressures or change. 4
Loss of confidence: When you start doubting your abilities to do your job,
that’s a red flag you may be in a toxic work environment. 5 Diminished
relationships: This evolves slowly, but you may find yourself gradually losing
interest in going out, being too fatigued to socialize.
Overcoming a toxic workplace can be a challenge, but
there is often a sense of freedom that comes from understanding the situation
you are in. You have a choice how you react to an unhealthy situation. There is
hope. You can take back your life and find happiness in your career.
http://blog.sfgate.com/gettowork/2014/04/28/does-your-workplace-have-a-toxic-environment/?cmpid=hp-hc-jobs
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