Against a backdrop of soaring company insolvencies, up by 72% in the last year according to the Insolvency Service, and plummeting business confidence the new UK Chancellor unveiled a package of measures to try to deal with the current cycle of stagnation and rising costs.

The focus, said Kwasi Kwarteng, would be on growth and the measures included reversing the rise in National Insurance payments, freezing corporation tax and cutting stamp duty.

The limit on bankers' bonuses was scrapped and there will possibly be 38 new investment zones in England.

This hugely expensive package is generally called trickle down economics, whereby the hope is that with more disposable income, investors and businesses will pass on the gains to those lower down the economy.

However, it is not a new idea and dates back to at least 1972, when a similar package ushered in several years of boom and bust.

Will it work this time?

Who can tell.

Certainly the stock markets and investors were not impressed and...

Businesses have been operating within a very uncertain climate ever since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic but now their stresses have been compounded by the war in Ukraine.

According to a report in CityAM the majority of investors managing around $1trn in assets are expecting an equity bear market this year and are slashing their exposure in response.

Risk management and building resilience:

Dr Gianluca Pescaroli is a global expert in risk management, and more specifically in how businesses and other organisations can best plan for, and cope with, the impact of a crisis.

He says: "You need to have a very, very clear idea of your critical processes and services. These are essential, independent of whether it is a pandemic, or Ukraine, or climate change. The better you prepare, the better you adapt and react."

The little things are important:

While pricing and supply issues need to be addressed you should also have a checklist of vulnerabilities for everything needed to keep...