Drama behind the scenes at City election May 2, 2013 THERE was more drama than usual at last month’s City of London elections. Academic and clergyman Muhammad Al-Hussaini, standing for the Castle Baynard ward, was representing the William Wallace Campaign with the popular pledge of “free beer for everyone forever.” However, an ill-judged email sent in jest created more of a stir than his policy. [...]
Proof, at last: The more money we earn, the happier we are May 2, 2013 ECONOMICS is at its best when it tears into the received wisdom. Take the almost universal view that money doesn’t buy happiness, and that millionaires are just as likely to be miserable as the rest of us. Guess what – it’s nonsense. On average, money is actually very good at buying happiness, as the experts [...]
Reality is intruding on the extreme claims of climate change alarmists May 1, 2013 A COMMON feature of debates about global warming is that extreme claims often go unchallenged. At best, criticism is impolitic. Worse, critics are portrayed as tools of malign fossil fuel interests. Being impervious to push-back leads to what I describe in my recent book as climate change derangement syndrome, when normally sane people say dumb [...]
Cheap funds for lenders in bid to boost borrowing April 30, 2013 BANKS are being offered cheap funding for another year in a renewed drive to boost lending to the private sector and get the economy moving. The funding for lending scheme (FLS) was launched in August and was expected to run for 18 months. But the Bank of England and the government are worried that lending [...]
Four new firms setting up shop in Heron Tower | City A.M. April 29, 2013 GERALD Ronson’s landmark Heron Tower is now 60 per cent let after four new tenants agreed to take up office space in the building. Partnership Assurance, the pensions company, has signed for the building’s lowest four office storeys, Heron International Group said yesterday. Securis Investment Partners, the insurance linked investment fund manager, stockbrokers Westhouse Securities, [...]
Funding for Lending isn’t working: Why the Bank is missing the point April 29, 2013 IN THE debate about why Britain’s monetary policy is not working, there has been too much focus on whether the Bank of England should buy more government bonds or move to negative interest rates. Both miss the point. The primary reason monetary policy is not working is that the transmission mechanism is broken. There is [...]
Liberalise planning and housebuilding can revive growth April 27, 2013 THE UK economy has avoided a triple-dip recession, but recovery is proving elusive. GDP is still 2.6 per cent below its pre-crisis peak and only 0.4 per cent greater than in the third quarter of 2011. Some sectors remain very depressed – most obviously construction, where output is 18 per cent down from its peak. [...]
Primark is wise to remain offline April 26, 2013 SO many retailers have been trumpeting their online success in recent weeks – with the internet now more profitable than the high street for Debenhams, and John Lewis’ annual website sales topping £1bn – that it’s something of a surprise to be presented with old-fashioned bricks and mortar success. But that’s what Primark delivered yesterday, [...]
Britain’s business elite is becoming increasingly Eurosceptic April 24, 2013 A PERNICIOUS myth has finally been laid to rest. From today, nobody can claim any longer that British business is united in its support of the European Union and the ever-greater centralisation of powers in Brussels. With over 500 business people – from top FTSE 100 bosses to entrepreneurs – signing up to Business for [...]
The man teaching the traders how to trade April 19, 2013 Yogesh Chandarana talks with hedge fund manager and trading guru Lex van Dam about competing with computer algorithms, and what to expect from CityA.M.’s 2013 Active Trader Conference How has the trading world changed since you spoke at last year’s City A.M. Active Trader Conference? Last year, the theme was risk-on risk-off. Now markets seem [...]