As Barclays backs out of bike deal, here are 4 ways TfL can attract greater sponsorship December 11, 2013 In the wake of the announcement that Barclays will not renew its sponsorship of the London bike hire scheme, here are four ways that Transport for London (TfL) could attract greater commercial investment. 1. TfL should be more active in seeking sponsorship In a report for GLA Conservatives, Gareth Bacon suggested TfL should be more [...]
FCA whacks Lloyds with record £28m fine December 11, 2013 City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has slapped Lloyds Bank with a £28m fine "for serious failings in their controls over sales incentive schemes". This is the largest fine ever imposed by the regulator or its predecessor, the Financial Services Authority. The failings affected branches of Lloyds TSB, Bank of Scotland and Halifax, it [...]
Stagecoach is uniquely successful in the US. Here’s why December 11, 2013 US markets are often seen as the place British businesses go to die. That makes Stagecoach's transatlantic success something of a surprise. The FTSE 250 listed company operates around 2,600 buses and coaches in the United States and Canada, linking roughly 100 locations, as well as offering commuter and school bus services. And while Stagecoach [...]
Government climate change adviser embraces dash for gas December 11, 2013 Britain should embrace fracking to provide a secure source of energy without destroying the environment, according to the chairman of the committee on climate change. Lord Deben, speaking to the Times said: It just isn't true that fracking is going to destroy the environment and the world is going to come to an end if [...]
What you need to know before the open – 11/12 December 11, 2013 A subdued start to trading today, with the US remaining in focus. Equity markets and the dollar have both been retreating, as the possibility of a taper next week weighs on investors' minds. On Monday, several US policymakers suggested that a trimming back of the government's $85bn-a-month bond purchases could be closer than has been [...]
Falling pay? That’s because you are secretly bailing out pensions December 11, 2013 REAL wages are still falling, on average, and nobody seems to know what to do about it. Even though the economy is growing, millions are seeing their incomes depressed by low nominal pay rises and highish inflation. Part of the problem is cyclical; but there is also a devastating structural explanation. There is a growing [...]
Against the Grain: Why the state’s technology bureaucrats must realise that most things fail December 11, 2013 THE PHRASE “industrial policy” seems to take us back decades. In 1964, the then Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson’s powerful new catchphrase was the need for Britain to embrace the “white heat of the technological revolution”. Sadly, by the 1970s this vision had deteriorated into a list of institutions, stuffed with dull businessmen and trade [...]
Central bankers do battle on avoiding bust: Carney vs Draghi December 10, 2013 Two speeches in two days have set out the stark differences in opinion between two of the most important men in economics. Bank of England governor Mark Carney and European Central Bank president Mario Draghi are both ex-Goldman Sachs employees, but that hasn't led to them sharing views on best practice as central bankers. While [...]
Pensions costs to approach half a trillion by 2062 December 10, 2013 Expenditure on pensions will reach an eye watering £491bn by 2062/63, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). In 2062/63 spending on pensions will have reached 9.4 per cent of GDP. The UK's demographic time bomb is ticking, over five million men and 7.3 million women are already over the state pension age. The [...]
One chart that shows how the UK’s growth is starting to take off December 10, 2013 The UK's economy grew by 0.8 per cent in the three months ending November, according to estimates by think tank Niesr. That's an acceleration from an estimated 0.7 per cent growth in the three months ending October 2013. So finally, but very gradually, the UK's economic growth is looking robust in magnitude – [...]