London’s classic red phone boxes are getting a makeover – complete with Wi-Fi and touchscreens February 7, 2017 You may have noticed some rather different phone boxes to what you're used to popping up on the streets of the capital. Well that's because the iconic red phone box is getting a revamp and New World Payphones has been wheeling out swanky new versions complete with high-speed Wi-Fi, touchscreen functions for local services and digital [...]
The language of love sweet-talks the City February 7, 2017 Parisians are often stereotyped as being a little rude. While this may ring true with anyone who has ever tried to catch a waiter’s eye in one of the city’s restaurants, yesterday it was all charm and warmth as a delegation from the French capital set out their stall to City execs. Paris joins the [...]
Inflation is striking back – and it will have implications for our politics February 7, 2017 Over the last two years, thanks to a low oil price, many economies have been living under a low-inflation illusion. 2017 looks set to be the year inflation strikes back. Rumbles of protectionism, uncertainty over Brexit, and Donald Trump’s expansionary fiscal policy all point to growing inflationary pressures further down the line. But immediate factors [...]
We’ll never solve the housing crisis if we continue to blame it on house-builders and migrants February 7, 2017 England's housing disaster is well-publicised. Construction has not kept pace with demographic change and successive governments have failed to address the consequences. The hotly-anticipated housing White Paper, out today, will sound an attempt to address this and some backlash against its proposals seems inevitable. It’s commonplace for us to blame greedy house-builders or uncontrolled immigration, [...]
Government should let us make free choices, not subsidise our productivity February 7, 2017 Often the most misguided ideas in politics sound the most innocuous. If we were to hear a minister say that the government wanted to ensure that “every man or woman achieved their full potential”, it would be tempting to nod along unthinkingly. Who could disagree with such a positive-sounding goal? The problem is that things [...]
As Standard Life’s investment boss calls for pay curbs, are big investors right to target chief executive pay? February 7, 2017 Alex Edmans, professor of finance at London Business School and a member of the steering group of The Purposeful Company, says Yes. Shareholders bear both the direct cost of executive pay and its indirect effects on other stakeholders, since stakeholder value ultimately affects shareholder value. Thus it is they, not one-size-fits-all regulation or other stakeholders, [...]
UK retail sales fell in January in a reversal of fortunes for the sector February 7, 2017 UK retail sales fell in January as shoppers curbed spending on non-food items. On a like-for-like basis, retail sales fell 0.6 per cent in January as compared to the same month a year before, reversing a sales rise of one per cent in December. Total sales rose just 0.1 per cent, against a 3.3 per [...]
Spending on essentials has hit record highs February 7, 2017 Spending on essential goods such as food and fuel has reached record highs as inflation has started to hit the UK consumer's wallet. There was a 15.3 per cent jump in petrol spending year-on-year in January, according to Barclaycard, and a 2.9 per cent hike in supermarket expenditure. This was coupled with a 3.4 per cent [...]
Former trade minister Lord Green appointed President of the Institute of Export & International Trade February 7, 2017 Former trade minister Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint has been appointed President of the Institute of Export & International Trade (IOE&IT). Lord Green will be tasked with driving the strategy and vision of the Institute and boosting the UK's exporting scene, as Britain soon begins the process of leaving the European Union – with Theresa May [...]
An open and immigrant-friendly UK can stay in the top 10 as the world economy doubles in size by 2050 says a new report February 7, 2017 The world economy is set to double in size by 2050, with the UK hanging on to a spot in the top 10 if it can forge successful new trading links and an open attitude to immigration after Brexit, according to a new report. The UK will fall one place in terms of purchasing power [...]