Leave the buy to let market alone, Britain needs more landlords September 6, 2016 Twenty years since buy to let took off, landlords are now a crucial part of Britain’s housing ecosystem. The private rented sector, accounting for around one in five properties, provides much-needed homes for those people who are not ready to buy or do not want to purchase a property. However, the sector sometimes comes in for stick, [...]
Brexit is a chance for London to renew itself once again as a great global city September 5, 2016 London is a phoenix-like city. It has reinvented itself time and again, rising from the Great Fire, the Plague and the Blitz. Compared to those, Brexit is a mild cold. The capital now needs to renew itself once again. It produces 22 per cent of the UK’s GDP and 30 per cent of its tax [...]
The London option: Britain’s EU deal must guarantee our city’s business pre-eminence September 5, 2016 In my last piece for City A.M., just 10 days after the referendum, I said that, by working together, we can keep London open for business and leading in the world. Over the past nine weeks, I’ve been meeting as many business leaders as possible, across all sectors, from startups to global corporations. Sadiq Khan and I [...]
Theresa May can reform Britain’s companies for the better – and she doesn’t need reams of new regulation to do it September 5, 2016 Britain's new Prime Minister Theresa May has created a big challenge for herself in proposing wide-reaching reform of the way companies are run. A close look at the existing Company Law, however, could help her deliver an important part of this agenda without a large swathe of new rules and regulations. Her suggestions that worker [...]
As recession fears fade following strong services PMIs, was the Bank of England wrong to cut interest rates post-Brexit? September 5, 2016 Andrew Sentance, senior economic adviser to PwC and a former member of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee, says Yes. Very low interest rates have been with us since 2009, but the Bank of England’s latest stimulus package has had a dramatic impact on long-term investment returns. Twenty-year UK government bond yields are now just over 1 [...]
Marks & Spencer is in a pay row with staff and could be axing 500 jobs. Is it time to split the retailer in two? September 5, 2016 Marks & Spencer’s famous adverts (“These are not just potatoes, these are pan-shaken ready-to-roast extra-crispy King Edward potatoes…”) may have stayed ripe for mockery for over a decade, but between our guffaws lies a reluctant acceptance that the branding is absolutely spot on. M&S food halls have been a roaring success, especially among the millions of Brits [...]
Britain would have left the EU even if it had voted Remain September 5, 2016 Counterfactuals are the ugly stepsister of political risk analysis, neglected and scorned in equal measure because – as they deal with events that have never occurred – they can never be definitively assessed. We find this all more than a little amusing, as the first rule of any world-class analyst is humility, that nothing (good [...]
The City must build on its relationship with China to remain the world’s financial centre September 5, 2016 Each week seems to bring another vision of how our post-Brexit relationship with Europe might look. Is the EEA an option? What has to be done in order to secure access to the Single Market? As lord mayor of London, it is my responsibility to work with the government and other key institutions to ensure [...]
The chancellor’s fiscal reset is a golden opportunity to slash living costs through tax cuts and planning reform September 5, 2016 Philip Hammond recently said that he may use the Autumn Statement to “reset” fiscal policy. That is a welcome sentiment because it suggests the chancellor sees before him a golden opportunity to transform the tax system. With Parliament returning, we are likely to see the government start to formulate and publicise more detailed economic policy [...]
Is Nicola Sturgeon deluded over her chances of getting Scottish independence? September 5, 2016 Alex Deane, managing director at FTI Consulting and City of London common councilman, says Yes. The SNP thrives on the perpetual prominence of the independence question. But their raison d’etre would disappear with another vote – either because they won, when they would become irrelevant, or because they lost, when their cause would wither for a [...]