Sheffield shows why manufacturing and finance enjoy a glorious synergy August 2, 2015 My title might be “lord mayor of the City of London”, but really that’s quite misleading. It’s my job to represent the whole of the UK’s financial and professional services industry, wherever it’s based. London may well be the largest single financial services centre in the UK, but 1.7m of the 2.1m people employed by [...]
Uber competition is good for passengers and drivers August 2, 2015 Addison Lee’s Catherine Faiers just can’t stop talking about Uber. Twice in recent weeks, she’s written in these very pages to highlight our popularity. It’s flattering to get confirmation from others that what you do is in such demand, although we try to focus on our own business. We already know the public likes [...]
With Lloyds’ PPI bill topping £13bn, should regulators institute a time limit for claims? August 2, 2015 David Buik, a market commentator at Panmure Gordon, says Yes. Lloyds Bank’s decision to buy HBOS when it was drowning in toxic debt, and at an ultimate cost of £25bn to the taxpayer due to its bailout, was injudicious. But the “Black Horse” has recovered remarkably quickly. Though it is not involved in investment banking, [...]
Uber’s race to the bottom: The wheels will come off this controversial business July 31, 2015 Uber causes a storm wherever it goes. First, there’s the storm of applause as passengers initially embrace what looks like an exciting, disruptive new technology. Then, there’s the storm of protest as people start to understand what the business model is really all about. Treating taxis as just another tech challenge raises all sorts [...]
Milton Friedman has been proven right about the “gnomes” from Brussels July 30, 2015 The American Nobel laureate Milton Friedman (1912-2006), who would have turned 103 today, was not a big fan of the European project. We can ascertain Friedman’s views on the euro by looking back to the early 1950s. At the time, Germany was battling with a large current account deficit, and Friedman published a memo on [...]
Why the Bank of England should follow the Fed and raise interest rates this year July 30, 2015 GDP figures out earlier this week confirmed that the UK economy is growing well. In five of the past six quarters, UK GDP has risen by 0.7 per cent or more. The annualised growth rate over this period has been 3 per cent. The services sector has been the main engine of growth. Retail, distribution [...]
As Nigel Farage stakes his claim in the EU Out campaign, will he do more harm than good? July 30, 2015 Gideon Skinner, head of political research at Ipsos Mori, says Yes Nigel Farage is a very skilled politician. Just witness Ukip’s remarkable rise after 2012. Our data shows the public thinks he has charisma, a clear vision, and he receives particularly enthusiastic ratings from his own supporters – which could be important in any referendum [...]
Don’t rejoice at Labour’s meltdown: One pro-business party is not enough July 29, 2015 On 8 May, a large swathe of the British business community breathed a huge sigh of relief, as it transpired that Ed Miliband’s Labour Party had been decisively defeated in the general election. Since then, things have gone from bad to worse for the opposition. Only last week, a poll suggested that left wing [...]
Britain is a great place for manufacturing – and businesses like mine prove it July 29, 2015 Some say that manufacturing in the UK has become unfashionable. The most recent figures show that the UK continues to operate a substantial trade deficit, standing at £400m in May this year. This was caused by our goods sector, where we operated a startling £8bn deficit. These numbers can be hard to contextualise. What they [...]
Heathrow airport expansion is in the UK’s interests: Get on with it July 29, 2015 It has now been a month since the Airports Commission made a clear recommendation to give the green-light to a new runway at Heathrow, following three years of consulting and examining the evidence. I fully back that recommendation. But after years debating the issue, we now need the government to grasp the moment and address [...]