One of the few benefits of a summer holiday that feels more like late autumn is that you won’t be tempted to spend all day lying around in the sunshine. Instead, you could cast your eye over this week’s collection of business stories, all designed to help you work on your commercial awareness.

Are you up to date on this week’s commercial news? The new Starbucks CEO is facing backlash over his use of the company jet, Rachel Reeves faces pressure to end the two-child benefit, trade unions are pushing for the government to compensate for a decade of pay cuts, and oil and gas firms have expressed concern about plans to increase windfall taxes. Read on to discover more.

It’s vacation scheme application season and subsequently a crucial time to think about the commercial issues affecting businesses and the legal industry. By considering the below news stories and working out how these issues could affect law firms and their clients, you are thinking commercially.

It might be freezing cold outside at the moment, with parts of the US experiencing temperatures of up to -37C this week, but this collection of commercial news stories is sure to keep you warm and light a fire of business excitement within you (LCN cannot be held accountable for physical warmth caused by business news). So pull up a chair, grab a cup of tea, and catch up with the financial world.

The war in Syria is rightly at the centre of the news, including the business pages. Oil prices have risen to a three-year high, while stocks have fallen across the world’s markets in response to the escalating tensions between the United States and Russia as they conduct proxy war in the devastated country. It’s a stark illustration that following the business world to build your commercial awareness also requires understanding current affairs. Here are some of the other main developments in the commercial sector this week.

As we are all now in thrall to the displays of Olympic athleticism, it is clear why there is a strong commercial imperative for companies to sponsor the Games – but what of those that try to “bandwagon”? For other, non-sporting commercial news, read on for this small selection from the past week: 

Philip Hammond delivered his first budget yesterday, and it was a mixed bag to say the least. While the UK’s growth forecast has been upgraded for 2017, it has been downgraded for subsequent years. Self-employed workers face a significant hike in their national insurance payments, but fuel duty has been frozen for another year. An additional £2 billion is to go to social care funding, but the NHS remains woefully underfunded. The BBC has provided a useful summary of these and other key points. For a selection of other big commercial stories that made headlines this week, take a look at these:

As Parliament prepares itself for a special sitting to decide the future of Brexit next Saturday 19 October, and leaked phone calls report German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying “nein” to the current Johnson deal, cast your minds towards the business world which has faced as much turbulence as the political one recently. 

It’s of the utmost important that aspiring lawyers avoid seeing the legal industry as an isolated bubble away from the business and political world.

From the breaking news regarding the latest ruling over the government’s plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda to the latest updates on strikes in the NHS, this week we take you through the biggest commercial developments in the UK, with the aim of increasing your commercial awareness.

With the excesses of Easter behind you, it’s time to really commit to the task ahead: developing your commercial awareness and thus significantly improving your chances on the recruitment frontline. Start here with this week’s curated group of topical news stories.

A short week means a short round-up, but still packed with interesting (albeit uniformly depressing) news.

Amid the building excitement around Halloween, don’t get so entirely caught up with how to be the most convincing zombie at the party that you forget what October is really all about – preparing to meet future employers at law fairs and wow them with your commerciality. To keep you on track, cast a (cycloptic) eye over this collection of (not very) ghoulish stories.

If you fancy boosting your commercial awareness, don’t forget that applications are still open for our student careers conferences LawCareersNetLIVE.

Déjà vu. I think it’s safe to say we all felt an element of déjà vu watching Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s press conference yesterday. How will these new restrictions impact the world in which law firms’ clients and law firms themselves operate? These are questions you should be considering as we head into the New Year. 

Another week, another opportunity to learn more about the commercial world and its impact on us all – including lawyers! Enjoy our digest of stories from the past week.

Are you up to date on this week’s commercial news? The government has announced a new budget, which sees a number of changes to taxes, pay and pensions, and increased spending for the NHS. Meanwhile, Alphabet has put investor worries about its AI development to rest, reporting increased profit for its cloud business. Plus, Shell is facing backlash after reducing its spending on green energy. Read on to discover more!

Are you up to date? Elon Musk’s plans to make Twitter private have taken the world by storm this week – but what’s the latest news relating to this deal? 

With the holidays almost upon us, it will soon be time for a well-earned break from all that gives people the blues (ie, the news) – at least for a couple of days! But before then, let’s briefly run through some of this week’s big business stories in our continuing quest to help you develop your commercial awareness. 

Are you up to date with the commercial news? The US government is taking Google to trial, accusing the company of operating a monopoly in the market, and the UK government has introduced a new Renters’ Rights Bill. Meanwhile, John Lewis states that plans to boost business have been successful and a report into the NHS has highlighted the need for reform. Read on to find out more!