Why Liverpool FC scrapped its ticket price hike – and it’s nothing to do with “fairness” February 17, 2016 Who wants to watch the Scousers play football? Certainly no Mancunian, and probably no self-respecting Londoner either. Yet demand for tickets at Anfield, the home of Liverpool FC, is high. Indeed, there is excess demand: more people want to watch the games than there is room for in the stadium. In keeping with the precepts [...]
UK-India relations: Both countries can only gain from even stronger economic ties February 17, 2016 When India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited London last year, 60,000 people came to Wembley Stadium to listen to him. That was the largest reception a foreign leader has ever received on a visit to Britain. And it speaks volumes about the deep ties that exist between Britain and India. These ties are emotional, historical [...]
Further delays to EDF’s Hinkley Point C nuclear power station is a symptom of bad policy February 17, 2016 Well, it is getting on for the end of meteorological winter and we seem to have made it through, or near as damn it, without any major supply-related blackouts. That is despite warnings (again) last summer that the UK was heading for a winter in which we could be plunged into medieval-style darkness at any [...]
As consumer price index inflation reaches a 12-month high, should we expect price rises to accelerate? February 17, 2016 Ben Brettell, senior economist at Hargreaves Lansdown, says Yes. Yes – but not by much, and not because of any inflationary pressures in the underlying economy. The headline rate of inflation continues to be largely driven by volatile fuel prices. Throughout 2015, fuel prices were registering double-digit falls compared with a year earlier. But given how [...]
AirBnB’s growth in London shows that slashing dated red tape can help the capital flourish February 16, 2016 Do you remember when, in May of last year, the Deregulation Act 2015 consigned to history a law contained in the 1973 Greater London (General Powers) Act? The moment may have passed you by, but that should not diminish its significance. The Deregulation Act simplified or scrapped hundreds of rules on everything from the sale [...]
David Cameron’s EU deal is – in legal terms – not worth the paper it’s printed on February 16, 2016 Much has been written about the substance of the Prime Minister’s renegotiation of the UK’s membership of the European Union. Will the “emergency brake” on welfare have any impact on migration? Does the promised new “red card” system restore any significant powers to the British Parliament? As we debate these matters, however, we should not [...]
George Osborne’s National Living Wage is a tax on employers hiring low-skilled workers February 16, 2016 A tip for the chancellor: if you want to save some easy money, slash your own propaganda budget. In London, we seem to be inundated with bus station ads championing what many consider to be misguided housing policies and by others highlighting the introduction of the new “National Living Wage” of £7.20 from April. It [...]
Japan’s economy: Will negative interest rates make the situation worse? February 16, 2016 Darius McDermott, managing director at Chelsea Financial Services, says Yes. Abenomics has, in my view, been the best attempt at reflating the Japanese economy for many years, and I’ve tipped Japanese equities for a couple of years now, on the back of the belief that the policies would work. It was never going to be easy, [...]
As China’s markets react to their first day back since the Lunar New Year, the country’s central bank can learn from the fire monkey February 15, 2016 By the time you read this, you’ll know how China’s markets have reacted to their first day back since the Chinese New Year (and you can get all the latest developments on cityam.com). Having taken last week off, Chinese traders will excuse themselves from any blame for the jaw-dropping volatility seen throughout the rest of [...]
The EU’s refugee crisis failures are a mark of its absolute decline February 15, 2016 Once lost, respect in the international affairs arena is almost impossible to regain. This past week, an extraordinary exchange was reported which starkly highlights the EU’s absolute decline, and the contempt with which it is increasingly held. At the G20 summit, held in November 2015 in the lovely Turkish resort city of Antalya, an exasperated [...]