Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Bank of America have all seen their stock climb recently – but the big banks are not out of the woods yet April 20, 2016 Shares in Goldman Sachs sprang out of bed in New York yesterday, as traders reacted to first-quarter results that were not quite as miserable as Wall Street had been expecting. Lowering expectations ahead of a dreaded event is a tried and tested method, within and beyond the business world, and it has worked a treat [...]
Trouble percolates for Caffe Nero over living wage after coffee chain bans free lunches for staff April 20, 2016 In recent weeks, several businesses have announced they will fund the living wage by cutting back perks for staff – something which is causing the public to turn against the brands in question. One of the best examples where this has happened is Caffe Nero. The high street coffee chain reacted to the introduction of [...]
George Osborne has no confidence in an independent Britain April 20, 2016 Are George Osborne and David Cameron irresponsible? Judging by their own Treasury report predicting doomsday scenarios from Brexit, surely the mere act of holding, let alone losing, a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU shows undue risk-taking with our economic livelihoods. Of course, the work may be a deliberately partial analysis designed to help [...]
Forget avoidance outrage: The public’s real attitude to tax is revealed by their actions April 20, 2016 Rather like a quantitative version of Hello! magazine, the Panama papers made headlines everywhere. Read all about the vast amount of money a particular celeb has got stashed away. Salivate, be titillated or be outraged, according to your fancy. The story was covered heavily by the Guardian, the in-house newspaper of the metropolitan liberal elite. [...]
I have no love for the EU – but leaving would only undermine the UK’s vibrant startup ecosystem April 20, 2016 They say the convert makes the strongest evangelist. As a naturalised Brit who has called London home for almost his entire working life, I feel a particular passion for the United Kingdom. I think we live in one of the greatest countries the world has ever known, and I am hugely bullish about our future. [...]
As the Queen celebrates her ninetieth birthday tomorrow, is the country a better place than it was 90 years ago? April 20, 2016 Stian Westlake, executive director of research at Nesta, says Yes. If you hopped in a time-machine and went back to 1926, the first thing that you’d notice is how much poorer Britain was. Real GDP is 5.8 times lower than it is today. What’s more, the UK has already lost its industrial edge to upstarts in [...]
UK house prices: The government could tackle the country’s housing deficit – but it has a vested interest in choking supply April 19, 2016 We need more housing to be built in the UK. That’s a quite indisputable statement that everyone I speak to in the property industry, in the public sector, amongst charities and at the dinner table, agrees with. The population of Britain increases by around 500,000 people each year largely due to positive net immigration but because people are [...]
London housing crisis: Build up, build out – or accept weaker growth April 19, 2016 There's no accounting for taste. A new 30-storey block of flats on Edgware Road will either be “a monstrosity”, according to some local objectors, or “a vital way of providing the homes London needs” according to Priced Out, a campaigning outfit that calls for an end to the housing crisis. The development was given the green [...]
The Treasury has it entirely wrong: The British economy would gain from Brexit April 19, 2016 The Treasury has produced its 200-page report about the effects of Brexit on the economy. Predictably, it is highly negative. It is sad that the Treasury, for which I once worked for a few years, has become so politicised that it is reduced to rationalising the views of George Osborne. The modelling methods it has [...]
Don’t fear falling tech firm valuations: This isn’t a repeat of the dot-com bust April 19, 2016 Is tech overvalued? Are we heading for another painful bust? If you only read the headlines and looked at the numbers, you might believe that. After reaching record levels, some tech startup valuations are falling. And with global economic conditions looking gloomy again, those valuations might drop further. Together with my partner Steve Schlenker, I [...]