With the rise of fintech, banks have more on their plate than Brexit November 29, 2017 Britain’s biggest banks nervously opened their latest stress test results yesterday. They all passed, although Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland remain the laggards – seeing the Bank of England after class. Most hearteningly, the BoE gave Britain’s major lenders an A grade for their resilience even in the face of a “disorderly Brexit”. However, [...]
Working Lunch: The Royal Exchange’s The Grand Cafe combines great seasonal produce with opulent surrounds November 29, 2017 Take a working lunch at The Grand Cafe, Royal Exchange WHAT? London’s first purpose-built stock-trading house, the Royal Exchange has been a central part of the Square Mile since 1566, when if was founded by merchant Sir Thomas Gresham. More than 450 years, and two major re-builds later, it remains one of the most imposing [...]
Should we have a bank holiday for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding? November 29, 2017 Should we have a bank holiday for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding? YES – Alex Deane, Conservative commentator. Bank holidays help to generate spending in recreational and leisure sectors, while at the same time harming national productivity more generally. But let’s be realistic. We love a royal wedding and we are going to celebrate [...]
The EU’s doublethink on smoking in films is such a drag November 29, 2017 In a senate discussion on the price of cigarettes, French health minister, Agnès Buzyn, said that she is ready to clamp down on le problème le plus important: smoking in films. The horror. The health minister insinuated that characters who smoke in films encourage young people to do the same. If only to add legitimacy [...]
The OBR’s forecasts should be taken not just with a pinch of salt, but with the contents of an entire mine November 29, 2017 There has been a great deal of crowing in metropolitan liberal circles over the report of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), published with the Budget last week. The OBR revised downwards its projections for GDP growth for each of the next five years. Annual average growth to 2022 is predicted to be just 1.4 [...]
Our twisted planning system holds up house building, not greedy landbanking developers November 29, 2017 The Letwin Review announced by the chancellor during the Budget last week is to be welcomed. The fact that housing is at the top of the government’s agenda is also very positive. But blaming developers for supposedly hoarding land in order to push up house prices is not. The average price of a house in [...]
Questioning AI ethics doesn’t make you a gloomy Luddite November 29, 2017 Last month, Google-owned DeepMind introduced AlphaGo Zero, the latest evolution of AlphaGo, the first computer programme to defeat a world champion at the ancient Chinese game of Go. Speaking at Web Summit earlier this month, Kevin Bandy, chief digital officer at Cisco, told the audience that “there are more moves in this one game than [...]
Ministers reveal Brexit talks “momentum” raising the prospect of imminent breakthrough November 28, 2017 A Brexit breakthrough is on the cards ahead of a crunch summit between UK and EU leaders next week. The government tonight revealed “recent momentum” in Brexit talks, raising the prospect a deal could be finalised in the coming days. Such progress came amid reports both sides had already agreed a multi-billion euro divorce bill. [...]
Palmer & Harvey collapses into administration despite rescue talks with Carlyle Group November 28, 2017 Palmer & Harvey (P&H), the UK’s biggest cigarette supplier, has collapsed into administration despite weeks of crunch takeover talks with private equity firm Carlyle Group, according to reports. PwC was appointed today to handle the administration. Matthew Callaghan, joint administrator and PwC partner, said: “The Palmer & Harvey name has been a trusted partner for [...]
Brexit talks: David Davis risks contempt of parliament over Brexit impact reports November 28, 2017 Brexit secretary David Davis is at risk of being ruled in contempt of parliament over the handling of an analysis of how leaving the EU will impact business. A row has erupted over 850 pages of analysis of Brexit’s impact on the UK economy, which Davis has been forced to hand over to the Brexit [...]