It’s time governments stopped bailing out bankrupt banks June 11, 2012 IF you are tempted to celebrate Spain’s bailout, or if you agree with its football-mad PM that it was a “triumph”, a great European “victory”, I would urge you to reconsider. Sure, chucking at least €100bn at insolvent, incompetently managed second-tier Spanish banks will pour oil on stormy Eurozone waters. It will reduce the immediate [...]
Wiggins defends Criterium title June 10, 2012 Britain’s Bradley Wiggins underlined his status as one of the favourites for this summer’s Tour de France by successfully defending his Criterium de Dauphine title yesterday. In a great race for Team Sky, the 32-year-old’s colleagues Michael Rogers and Chris Froome finished second and fourth overall.
Antigone is astute but star disappoints June 8, 2012 THEATRE ANTIGONE The National Theatre | By Steve Dinneen *** Christopher Eccleston is theatre gold – the kind of name guaranteed to sell out a run. He has certainly chosen a cracker in Antigone: an expertly crafted play that’s as politically astute as it is deftly choreographed. Unfortunately – and surprisingly, given his excellent track [...]
Negotiate your future with your job contract May 30, 2012 NEGOTIATING an employment contract, whether you’re about to start a new role or renegotiating an existing package, can be a daunting prospect. Receiving a job offer brings mixed feelings for most people, as many agonise over the terms of the offer and whether to take the plunge into negotiating a better deal. Others are so [...]
Free money for governments is a grave threat to investors May 23, 2012 IF you want proof that the global economy’s woes are increasing, as a result of extreme imbalances, look no further than some countries’ borrowing costs. Germany has set a zero per cent coupon on its 2-year government bonds (or Schatz) due to be sold today – in other words, borrowers will not be paid for [...]
Research that shows why lower taxes are good for growth May 22, 2012 IT is often wrongly asserted that there is no evidence that high levels of tax and public spending have a negative effect on economic growth. Whether the state spends and taxes 30 per cent of GDP or 50 per cent is irrelevant, it is argued, and should merely be seen as a question of taste. [...]
Britain must embrace 30pc tax revolution to boost growth May 21, 2012 IT is time for Britain to make a vital choice. Our economy is stagnant, with unemployment at horrendous levels, crippled by excessive public spending and a punitive tax system. There are two options. We can either tweak the status quo – try to keep a lid on spending, reform bits of the public sector and [...]
Eurozone break-up will be traumatic but is now inevitable May 17, 2012 IT is good to see Sir Mervyn King and David Cameron both being a little more open about the possibility of a Greek default. We need realism, not delusion, from our central bankers and politicians; and it is looking more likely by the day that Greece will elect a rabidly anti-austerity government next month, default [...]
Government’s job is to shield UK taxpayers from Euro chaos May 16, 2012 WHEN a country’s president warns that its banks are in danger, and reveals that depositors are pulling out cash from their accounts at a record rate, it is time to dig out the tin hats and the cans of baked beans. Yet that was exactly what happened in Greece yesterday on another pivotal day for [...]
Grexit will happen much more quickly than politicians think | City A.M. May 14, 2012 CURRENCIES are social constructs. They are only worth something because everybody else believes them to be worth something. That was partly true even of traditional, commodity backed currencies – you can’t eat gold – but it is undoubtedly the case of today’s paper money. We accept notes and coins – or digital claims to them [...]