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 [...]
One in six UK cigarettes from black market April 19, 2013 MORE than one in six cigarettes smoked in the UK has been bought illegally, costing the Treasury billions in lost tax revenues, a new report claims. Research from KPMG claims that illicit cigarettes accounted for 16.4 per cent of the UK market in 2012, above the EU average of 11.1 per cent. It also claimed [...]
Only real school choice for parents can inspire an education revolution April 19, 2013 IN THE past century, most parts of the economy have seen a fundamental transformation in how things are produced and delivered. Yet schools today function pretty much as they did 100 years ago. The radical progress characterising modern societies simply does not apply to education. And there’s a reason for this. A fundamental difference between [...]
Migration rules pose threat to City April 19, 2013 London depends on its ability to attract the very best talent ACCA COMMENT FOOTBALL has few similarities to the finance profession. But they are similar when it comes to the need to attract the best talent to London and the UK. The future of London as a global financial centre has been a topic of [...]
In defence of One Direction: Why high earnings are no reflection of morality April 19, 2013 THE One Direction backlash has begun. Yesterday, critics reportedly dubbed the boy band’s £25m earnings last year “insensitive” and “grossly immoral”. Not only are millions of Directioners now up in arms, but an economics howler was committed to boot. Criticisms like these forget why it is that people get rich. Earnings are not a reflection [...]
Where next for the yellow metal? April 19, 2013 Gold experts Georges Lequime and Paul Tustain, both speaking at City A.M.’s Active Trader Conference this year, give their perspectives on recent moves in the price, what drives the precious metal, and what will happen next GEORGES LEQUIME FOR the first time in my twenty years as a gold fund manager, and previously sell-side analyst, [...]