Is Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz right that Europe may have to abandon the euro to save the European project? August 30, 2016 Ruth Lea, economic adviser at Arbuthnot Banking Group, says Yes. Granted, some may regard the common currency as an intrinsic part of the “European project”, but the euro is undermining the very foundations of a prosperous and peaceful union for all its members, which is surely what the European project is fundamentally about. And it is [...]
Forget Norway: Canada-plus is the best Brexit deal Britain can achieve August 30, 2016 “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.” – Book of Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3, Verse 1 Theresa May’s policy of slowing down the post-Brexit train through the determined tactic of vagueness has been skilful, but it has now served its purpose. By resolutely refusing to invoke Article 50 [...]
Dithering on airport capacity is choking British businesses, Theresa May needs to take urgent action August 30, 2016 The decision on whether to construct a new runway in the south east of England has been parked for too long. That cannot remain the case for much longer – a lack of airport capacity in the south east is acting a major constraint upon business and economic growth. Business leaders have become increasingly exasperated [...]
An eye for an eye, a hack for a hack: The global cyber arms race is heating up August 30, 2016 Many will be familiar with the biblical adage “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”. Underpinning the Book of Exodus, this principle of even-handed justice formed the kernel of Old Testament law. Yet contemporary followers of the book allowed it to transmute into a justification for personal vengeance. It wasn’t until Jesus [...]
Liberalising air travel delivered huge gains to consumers: Don’t let Brexit jeopardise this August 30, 2016 UK aviation is a growing success story. More than 251m passengers passed through a UK airport in 2015 – a record number – and our airlines, which operate from more than 40 airports across the country, carried 144m people and 1m tonnes of cargo last year. The industry is worth almost £50bn to our national income [...]
Will September be a particularly cruel month for investors? August 30, 2016 David Buik, market commentator at Panmure Gordon, says Yes. As a committed Brexiteer, it is imperative to be eternally optimistic, particularly in the face of hysterical Remain financial forecasting which emanated from the establishment, encouraged by a slew of eminent economists. After Brexit, further quantitative easing and a rate cut were quickly introduced, which resulted in [...]
From Italy to Trump, why are investors so complacent about political risk? August 30, 2016 As Theresa May plotted with her Cabinet this weekend about the country’s plan for Brexit, doomsday-predictors should have every reason to be amazed at where asset prices sit today. Funnily enough, market-savvy Brexiteers I spoke to in the aftermath of the vote were surprised but sanguine, saying markets always overreact. Clearly in the short term [...]
Watch and learn: Lessons for the Aim market August 29, 2016 An increasing amount of high-profile, international companies which are listed on Aim have ambitious vision for growth and are seeking advice on the best to go about this. In many cases, having your sights set on growth may lead to frequently undertaking acquisitions and investments. Growth-seeking, Aim-quoted companies can draw a number of insights from [...]
The UK has turned its back on the EU – we must not do the same to China August 29, 2016 It has been a little over two months since the EU referendum and data from the UK economy has continued to leave both sides of the Brexit debate wanting. Commentators were overly negative in July and now seem to be swinging excessively positive but the reality is we simply haven’t had enough data to work [...]
The boardroom and the slave: These are the actions firms need to take August 26, 2016 This autumn, executive boards should expect to see slavery and trafficking as compulsory board agenda items, with the introduction of Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act. The statement Large UK companies are required to publish an annual statement, signed by a director, detailing actions taken to eradicate modern slavery within its organisation and its [...]