Orsted Plans $9 Billion Rights Issue to Strenghen Balance Sheet
The offering, which confirms a Bloomberg News report from Friday, will help the Danish renewable-power giant shore up its balance sheet after a challenging period in recent years. The rights issue has the support of the Danish state, which is the company's majority shareholder.
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Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Mind the skills gap: Older workers falling behind in training
Working life and skills are changing fast. Some jobs are booming, others are disappearing, says the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2025. The OECD warns: 'There is an urgent need to boost the skills of older workers.' However, older workers (55–65 year-olds) take part in non-formal learning and training much less than those aged 25–54 year-olds, the OECD finds. On average, the rate is 32% versus 49% in 23 European countries, though the gap differs across countries. Where do older people learn the most—and the least? What do experts and the OECD recommend? When do we stop learning? According to the OECD Employment Outlook 2025 report, participation in formal and non-formal adult learning declines with age. In 2023, only a third of 60–65 year-olds took part in adult learning in the 12 months before the survey, compared with more than half of 25–44 year-olds. The averages cover 29 countries, 22 of which are in Europe. The share of the population participating in adult learning is over 60% among 25–29 year-olds, but drops to 39% for those aged 55–59 and to 31% for those aged 60–65. This share starts to decline clearly after the age of 45. Non-formal training was far more common than formal learning (training leading to a qualification) across all age groups. This was especially true for older individuals, with only 1% of 60–65 year-olds participating in formal learning. Learning by doing also decreases with age. Related Years at work: Which European countries have the longest average working life? Surviving retirement: Where do older Europeans get their money? Why do older people take part in learning less? Lower participation in non-formal learning among older individuals may be due to less willingness to train or other barriers, such as time constraints or course costs. According to the report, a lower willingness to train is likely a key factor. The share of people who wanted to participate in training—whether or not they actually did—falls from about 60% among 25–44 year-olds to 37% among those aged 60–65. A similar pattern appears in the share of people who participated in less training than they wanted, which drops from 28% among 25–34 year-olds to 17% among those aged 55–65. The report shows that time constraints are less of a barrier to training for older people than for younger groups. Among 55–65-year-olds, 7% took part in less training than they wanted due to time constraints—5% citing work-related reasons and 2% family reasons. In contrast, 15% of 35–44 year-olds reported time constraints as a barrier, with 8% pointing to work and 7% to family responsibilities. Large differences across European countries In every OECD country, including all European ones in the list, older individuals (55–65 year-olds) take part in non-formal learning less than the prime-age group (25–54 year-olds). However, both their participation rates and the size of the age gap vary greatly. The highest participation in non-formal training among 55–65 year-olds is seen in the Nordic countries—Norway, Finland, and Denmark—at around 50%. Sweden ranks fifth with 43%. The European average (22 countries) is 31.7%, compared with 34.9% across the OECD (29 countries). The lowest participation in non-formal training for this age group was in Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary, all below 18%. Outside the Nordic countries, England has the highest participation at 43.5%, followed by the Netherlands (41.7%) and Ireland (40.9%). Among Europe's five largest economies, Italy has the lowest participation at 18.5%, followed by France at 21.7%. Germany stands at 34.9%, slightly above the average. The participation gap between 25–54-year-olds and 55–65-year-olds is widest in Portugal at 24.7 percentage points (pp) and smallest in Italy at 8.9 pp. However, this does not mean older people are doing better in Italy, as their participation rate is the fourth lowest in Europe. Related Europe's job market: Which sector has the most job postings? Top 20 revealed 'Now is the moment to really embrace those tools': LinkedIn's top tips to futureproof your career Is this a surprise? Not at all One reason older people are less likely to engage in training—and employers are less likely to fund it—is the lower expected return on such investment due to shorter remaining working lives, the report notes. This is no surprise in economic theory. According to ManpowerGroup, 75% of employers in 21 European countries were unable to find workers with the right skills in 2023. 'Continuous learning is essential' Pawel Adrjan, Director of Economic Research at Indeed, told Euronews Business that continuous learning is essential in a fast-evolving market. As with previous technological innovations, professionals who proactively learn new tools, platforms, and methodologies will be better positioned to work efficiently with emerging technologies. The OECD noted that higher employment rates among older workers can help employers preserve valuable knowledge and skills while boosting productivity. 'There is an urgent need to boost the skills of older workers and promote their participation in well-targeted training,' the organisation recommends. Related The Big Question: How can AI help you climb the corporate career ladder? 1 in 3 doctors in Europe are older than 55. Which countries are most at risk from ageing workforces? How can governments respond? OECD offers four main actions that the governments can do. They included: Focus on boosting skills of older workers Address barriers to job-to-job mobility Confront ageism and other forms of discrimination Revive productivity growth, including through AI and automation Across the EU, people are living longer than in past decades. Many countries have responded by raising the retirement age, keeping people in the workforce for more years. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Bloomberg
31 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
ECB's Rebel Voice Bows Out With Plea for Greater Transparency
The European Central Bank 's most rebellious interest rate-setter has one last suggestion before he departs this month: more transparency on policy decisions. Arch hawk Robert Holzmann, who's been comfortable delivering a lone 'no' vote on occasions during the ECB's monetary-easing push, wants outsiders to glean more of an understanding of officials' thinking as they calibrate borrowing costs.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
8%+ yield! Here's why Legal & General's one of my favourite dividend shares
Dividends are never, ever guaranteed, and even the most robust of blue-chips can unexpectedly slash dividends when crises emerge. But backed by its cash-rich balance sheet and improving outlook, I'm optimistic Legal & General (LSE:LGEN) could remain one of the FTSE 100's best-paying shares over the long term. Here's why. A proud history Legal & General's demonstrated excellent commitment to paying large and growing annual dividends over time. Since 2000, it's only cut shareholder payouts twice. And both of those occured during the height of the 2008 financial crisis. The only other blot on its copybook came in 2020, when Covid-19 forced it — along with hundreds of other companies — to rein in their progressive dividend policies. On that occasion, the cash reward was frozen at 17.57p per share in 2020. But since then they've risen steadily, culminating in last year's 21.36p total dividend. So what next? Legal & General has proposed continuing to raise dividends too, albeit at a reduced rate of 2% to 2027. That's down from 5% in previous years. Yet that's growth nonetheless, and — as the table below shows — creates dividend yields far above the FTSE 100 average of 3.3%. Year Dividend per share (City forecasts) Dividend yield 2025 21.79p 8.3% 2026 22.18p 8.4% 2027 22.64p 8.6% These projections are supported by the company's robust financial foundations. Thanks to its impressive cash generation, its Solvency II capital ratio was 217% in June. This was even after the payment of 2024's final dividend, and factoring in its recently-launched £500m share buyback programme. Legal & General believes it will remain robust enough to uphold its dividend targets. It's expecting £5bn-£6bn of cumulative operational surplus cash generation between over the next three years. Strong momentum But as we saw during the pandemic, plans can be knocked off course. And with inflationary pressures rising and tough market conditions persisting, things might not be plain sailing for the company. This is concerning, considering that projected dividends are barely covered by expected earnings. Dividend cover through to 2027 sits between 1 and 1.1, well below the widely-regarded safety minimum of 2. However, Legal & General's resilience means I think it can deliver those impressive dividends. Its latest trading statement showed underlying operating profit rise 6% between January and June, to £859m. This beat analysts estimates by more than £40m. Though its Asset Management division struggled, this was more than offset by strength at the Retail and Institutional Retirement units. Over the period, the company grew its total retail customer base to 12.4m. A top dividend share This robustness — along with that rock-solid balance sheet I've described — make me feel Legal & General shares will remain an excellent passive income share to consider during the forecast period to 2027 and beyond. With demographic changes driving demand for its retirement, protection and investment products, I'm expecting to profits to rise strongly over the long term. The post 8%+ yield! Here's why Legal & General's one of my favourite dividend shares appeared first on The Motley Fool UK. More reading 5 Stocks For Trying To Build Wealth After 50 One Top Growth Stock from the Motley Fool Royston Wild has positions in Legal & General Group Plc. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Motley Fool UK 2025
