The extraordinary events in the world economy were on everyone’s lips at the CIPD conference, with all agreeing strong leadership was vital at such times. Lucy Phillips reports
With this year’s conference taking place during one of the most turbulent weeks in financial history, the HR implications of the economic crisis was a hot topic among speakers.

Few did not reflect on the landmark economic events of the previous seven days, in which investment bank Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, the US government was forced to bail out insurance giant AIG and Lloyds TSB secured a £12.2 billion takeover of HBOS.