Why I’ll be voting to leave the costly, dysfunctional and bureaucratic EU April 28, 2016 Let me start with an admission. I love Europe. I love its food, culture and heritage. It is a continent I love to visit and do business with. But Europe is being torn apart by the European Union. Its two big political projects are in crisis. The euro has left national governments with huge debts and [...]
Corbyn-backing Sadiq Khan would be a disaster for London’s thriving economy April 28, 2016 When it comes to business, London’s mayoral election matters for the whole country. Britain’s economy is deeply interconnected. A startup in Bristol will hire a design agency in Soho to help them market their product online; a Leeds manufacturer will draw on finance and legal advice from firms in the City. For better or for [...]
The junior doctors’ strike is a symptom of politicians’ failure to embrace real public sector reform April 28, 2016 Tom Bower’s recently published biography of Tony Blair is fascinating. Not because of any sensational revelations, but rather because of the relentless narrative describing the failure of politicians and senior civil servants to understand how to make public services work more efficiently, or indeed how an economy really works at all. They simply didn’t get [...]
As UK growth slows to 0.4 per cent in the first quarter, is George Osborne right to blame it on the EU referendum? April 28, 2016 Scott Corfe, director at the Centre for Economics and Business Research, says Yes. Our business survey research shows that companies have reined in capital spending plans amid all the uncertainty over Brexit. This is particularly the case for large businesses, and we are likely to see some weak investment figures in the first half of this [...]
The OECD’s warning over Brexit is totally twisting the figures April 27, 2016 The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has just given us its considered opinion on the likely costs of Brexit. And as the more canny Scots like to insist about the English, we should perhaps send them home to think again. For what its done in presenting their numbers is one of those near unpardonable statistical sins. [...]
Rivals set to win customers on back of BHS’ demise April 27, 2016 BHS has entered administration, confirming what I have previously written about in this column; its loyal customers have deserted it in recent years. Although BHS will continue to trade while a buyer is sought, the retailer has been in trouble for some time as it failed to modernise its offering. It has been losing market [...]
All aboard! The banking rollercoaster ride is here April 27, 2016 The UK’s banks have been on a rollercoaster ride since the dark days of the credit crunch in 2008, from PPI mis-selling to Libor and the Forex scandal. Recent woes include market volatility, capital buffers and low interest rates depressing margins. As first quarter reporting season kicks off with Barclays today, some good news at [...]
Hidden fees are a stealth tax on all our savings: This is no free market April 27, 2016 Do you know how much your pension costs? How much the folk looking after your money are charging you? No? It’s not easy to find out. I didn’t until I demanded the information. It wasn’t just the management fee they’d advertised but many times that. Small percentages that really added up. I became suspicious when I received [...]
Retirement is popular – but surviving the pensions crisis means encouraging work April 27, 2016 The Queen’s 90th birthday quite rightly dominated the media last week. Her Majesty continues to break all sorts of records, spending longer on the throne than Queen Victoria and being our oldest ever reigning monarch. But longevity should no longer give cause for surprise. The oldest participant in the London Marathon this year was 88, [...]
Why Brexit could spell trouble for Berkeley Group if foreign investors abandon London April 27, 2016 Berkeley Homes produces some of the most desirable goods in the UK. Building high-end houses and apartments chiefly in London, this well-managed company has delivered impressive profit margins and sustained growth. To explain this success, many would point to London’s chronic housing shortage. Annual demand is typically estimated at 50,000 homes by industry commentators. In [...]