As calls for the chancellor to apply some fiscal stimulus grow, do we really want more public spending? August 8, 2016 Scott Corfe, director at the Centre for Economics and Business Research, says Yes. The UK economy is set to slow drastically over the coming quarters, with the Centre for Economics and Business Research expecting GDP growth to decline from about 1.5 per cent this year to less than 0.5 per cent in 2017. A recession – [...]
Fintech founders choose their favourite business books August 8, 2016 Stuck for what to read this summer and want to use the time improving your business acumen? City A.M. has asked five of London’s leading fintech founders what they’d recommend. Hiroki Takeuchi, co-founder of GoCardless, the online direct debit provider Five dysfunctions of teams, by Patrick Lencioni I love books that introduce me to [...]
It took Britain 12 years to join the EU – don’t expect the break-up to go much faster August 8, 2016 Theresa May was only a little girl when Neil Sedaka’s plangent song “Breaking up is hard to do / Now I know / I know that it’s true” was a Number One hit. Britain has announced it wants to break up with Europe, but it is turning out to be a harder to do than [...]
Voting for Hillary Clinton is the last thing I ever thought I’d do. But this is our moral test. August 8, 2016 “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” Edmund Burke Every time I come to London, my good friend Dan and I make a point of seeing one of the city’s peerless museums together, as an enjoyable way to break up the monotony of the endless meetings I [...]
Why UK M&A activity is on the rise despite Brexit vote fears August 5, 2016 Figures recently released by Thomson Reuters have shown that widespread concern about M&A activity slowing down as a result of Brexit has very much been unfounded. In the first half of 2016, as the Brexit vote loomed, M&A activity was tailing off due to uncertainty in the corporate world, and experts were warning that the [...]
New chancellor Philip Hammond should resist the temptation to splash the cash in the wake of the UK’s Brexit vote August 5, 2016 No one can accuse the Bank of England of shying away from its responsibilities. Whether you’re a dove or a hawk, it’s impossible to deny that yesterday’s move was an exceptionally bold attempt to help the British economy deal with the fallout from June’s Brexit vote. Attention has quickly turned to the government, with Bank [...]
Thank Mark Carney if Britain escapes a post-Brexit recession August 4, 2016 The 0.25 per cent cut from 0.5 per cent, itself already a record low, finally came yesterday, a month later than the market had anticipated. It was the first move in interest rates by the Bank of England in seven years. I often wondered whether membership of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) wasn’t the best [...]
What businesses can expect from Theresa May’s self-consciously pragmatic Conservatism August 4, 2016 From what retailers sold in their shops to their advertising, David Cameron seemed to have a view on everything businesses did. While they might not have approved of it all, businesses understood what he was thinking. Not so with Theresa May. May intervenes in public debate sporadically, on bigger issues and with more focus. She [...]
Being offensive made Donald Trump’s campaign: Now it’s killing it August 4, 2016 The world is watching Donald Trump, unhinged. Not to suggest he’s been particularly level-headed up until now. From his entry into the primaries last year to the Republican National Convention two weeks ago, Trump has walked a fine line between humour, sarcasm, and challenges to the politically-correct status quo and, every once in a while, blatant [...]
As the Bank cuts interest rates and restarts bond purchases, will it succeed in stimulating the economy? August 4, 2016 Dean Turner, UK economist at UBS Wealth Management, says Yes. With the threat of a sharp slowdown looming, the pre-emptive strike by the Bank of England with a comprehensive package of easing measures, should ease the pain. The measures were more than the markets were anticipating, as was the signal that the Bank stands ready to [...]