UK banks have yet to address the elephant in the room: Their current business model is unsustainable April 14, 2016 It was another tough year for UK banks in 2015, and the challenges look set to continue. Our high-street banks are at a vital juncture: they’ve survived the crisis and are now preparing for one of the biggest overhauls of UK banking we have ever known with the introduction of ring fencing. KPMG analysis out today [...]
With Tesco’s profits up but facing an “uncertain market”, has Dave Lewis saved the supermarket? April 14, 2016 John Ibbotson, director of retail consultancy Retail Vision, says Yes. Yesterday’s fall in Tesco’s share price should be taken with a Value sack of salt. Chief executive Dave Lewis is achieving an extraordinary feat, turning around an oil tanker in a very tight spot. With Tesco hemmed in by ruthless competition and food price deflation, it’s [...]
Birdseye needs its Captain to come to the rescue April 13, 2016 Birds Eye has reintroduced the famous and much-loved Captain Birds Eye character to its advertising campaign – 10 years after he was cut adrift by the frozen food provider. The return of the well-known, white-bearded seafarer is part of an £8m campaign which will coincide with the re-launch of some of Birds Eye’s key products [...]
Tesco’s share price has recovered this year as Dave Lewis implements his turnaround plan, but the preliminary results could affect sentiment April 13, 2016 When Dave Lewis took over as Tesco chief executive in September 2014, much was made of his nickname Drastic Dave, particularly as drastic measures were necessary to revive the group's flagging fortunes. Lewis was parachuted in from Unilever to turn around the Tesco juggernaut after a scandal that had seen the retailer overstate its profits. [...]
Vince Cable, Stephen Kinnock and Andrew Cooper: Restoring trust in capitalism means moving beyond ideology April 13, 2016 Capitalism has been a controversial word since the start of the industrial revolution. Yet despite the historic clash between capital and labour, few would take issue with the fact that industrial capitalism has led to the greatest sustained improvement in wellbeing and prosperity in human history. It appeared to be the gift that kept on [...]
With March’s inflation figures the strongest since 2014, should we be prepared for a rapid rise in the coming months? April 13, 2016 Andrew Sentance, senior economic adviser to PwC and a former member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, says Yes. Once again, deflation has been the dog which hasn’t barked in the UK. Inflation is gradually coming back. The headline rate is 0.5 per cent, but the underlying rate – excluding volatile food and energy [...]
From Danny Willett to the financial crisis, why unlikely events confound forecasters so often April 13, 2016 Life imitates art, as the sporting world has shown this week. The Grand National was won by a horse which had never previously won a steeplechase. The US golf Masters was won by Danny Willett, who nearly did not take part at all because of the birth of his son. With only nine of the [...]
Memento: The movie that explains why inheritance tax is rightly despised April 13, 2016 In an early classic, before he became known for mind-bending blockbusters like Inception and Interstellar, Christopher Nolan made Memento. In that film is the key to the debate over inheritance tax, which is again in the news with the disclosure that David Cameron received a gift from his mother (reducing the potential inheritance tax liability). It [...]
With March’s inflation figures the strongest since 2014, should we be prepared for a rapid rise in coming months? April 13, 2016 Andrew Sentance, senior economic adviser to PwC and a former member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, says Yes. Once again, deflation has been the dog which hasn’t barked in the UK. Inflation is gradually coming back. The headline rate is 0.5 per cent, but the underlying rate – excluding volatile food and energy [...]
More regulation is not the answer to crowdfunding failures April 12, 2016 Rebus Group collapse is bad news – but over regulation of alternative finance is not the answer. The saga of Rebus Group – the company which failed after attracting more than £800,000 from a well-known funding platform – has attracted predictable calls for the alternative finance sector to be laden with further regulations. The reasons [...]