Someone explain to Donald Trump, trade deficits aren’t actually a problem March 14, 2018 Do trade deficits matter? President Donald Trump certainly thinks they do. Since his campaign, he has tweeted frequently about his unhappiness with America’s trade deficit, and last week he announced tariffs on imported steel and aluminium. Trump once observed that the problem was that there were a lot of Mercedes-Benz in New York and not [...]
Spring Statement: Spring is finally in the air, but the chancellor is right to play it safe March 14, 2018 The Spring Budget may have been downgraded to a mere Statement – with all fiscal announcements reserved for the November Budget – but yesterday’s speech by the chancellor still gave some useful insights into what to expect during 2018. So too did the revised forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) that accompanied the [...]
DEBATE: After the attack on Sergei Skripal, should England’s football team boycott the World Cup in Russia? March 14, 2018 After the attack on Sergei Skripal, should England’s football team boycott the World Cup in Russia? Robert Colvile, director of the Centre for Policy Studies, says YES. Russia is a gangster state. It has murdered on British soil, invaded its neighbours and annexed their territory, sponsored the partisans who shot down Flight MH17, interfered with [...]
The social media battle against fake news has begun – beware your own emotions March 14, 2018 Did Donald Tusk, the former Prime Minister of Poland and now president of the European Council, conspire with Vladimir Putin to murder the President of Poland, Lech Kaczynski? Many Poles believe this preposterous story, I learned last week at a fascinating conference on social influence at the University of Warsaw. In 2010, a Polish Air [...]
Institute of Directors confirms former Easyjet executive as interim chair March 13, 2018 Scandal-hit business lobby group the Institute of Directors (IoD) has confirmed former Easyjet finance director Chris Walton as its interim chair. Walton’s appointment was ratified by the IoD’s council this evening following the recommendation of its board. The council also agreed that it was satisfied that council member Dame Joan Stringer had acted appropriately in [...]
Dana CEO to meet GKN shareholders in London as battle with Melrose heats up March 13, 2018 The race for engineering giant GKN is reaching fever pitch, as the chief executive of US axle firm Dana has come to London to meet top GKN shareholders. James Kamsickas is in the capital to persuade investors to back a $6.1bn (£4.4bn) tie-up between Dana and GKN’s automotive business, as opposed to an £8.1bn takeover [...]
Investors plan to plough even more into private equity this year – and get more back through distributions March 13, 2018 Investors in private equity funds are planning to plough even more money into the asset class over the next 12 months, according to a new survey, after a record year in 2017. These institutional investors, surveyed by adviser Rede Partners which helps match private equity funds with investors, are also expecting to get “significantly more” [...]
Spring Statement: UK “prepared to act unilaterally” on tech giants tax changes March 13, 2018 The government has said it is “prepared to act unilaterally” in order to ensure digital giants are paying the taxes they owe. Launched as part of Philip Hammond’s Spring Statement today, the new document reiterates the government view that the principle that companies should be taxed based on profits where they create value is being [...]
Tandem Bank buys fintech app Pariti March 13, 2018 Digital bank Tandem has bought money management app Pariti in a bid to expand the capabilities of its own offering. The deal, paid with a mix of cash and equity, means Pariti’s chief executive and chief technology officer, Matthew Ford and Peter Townsend, will join Tandem to help in the bank’s app development. The purchase [...]
Spring Statement 2018: Government hints at dropping £50 note, 1p and 2p coins March 13, 2018 The government has hinted that it may ditch the £50 note and 1p and 2p coins as part of a move to make cash fit for purpose. As part of a tranche of documents released for today’s Spring Statement, the Treasury has launched a call for evidence around use of cash and digital payments. As [...]