Paris terror attacks: We must deny Isis the narrative it craves November 15, 2015 It was Friday night in the unimaginably beautiful city of Paris. People were doing all the things that make the place magical: lingering in cafes, going to football matches, attending rock concerts, walking down the broad, beautiful boulevards that intersect the city, tying it together as a living thing. And now they are all dead, [...]
From the City to the sea: My plans for my year as the Lord Mayor of London November 15, 2015 Since assuming the role of lord mayor of London on Friday, the hours have been both hectic and eclectic. The “Silent Ceremony” – so-called because no words are spoken at the handover – is a meaningful and moving start to the mayoral year; inherited from my predecessor as lord mayor Alan Yarrow. Alan has done [...]
The end of Black Friday: Why the seasonal price-slashing frenzy is too unprofitable to last November 15, 2015 Asda's decision to pull out of Black Friday may have hit the headlines last week, but the move was far from unprecedented. In the US, where this seasonal price-slashing frenzy originated, held on the Friday after Thanksgiving, retailers have also started to back off. The outdoor and sporting goods chain REI, which has more than [...]
With over 85 per cent of Northern Rock assets back in private hands, has Britain now recovered from the financial crisis? November 15, 2015 James Butterfill, head of research & investment strategy at ETF Securities, says Yes. One key measure to ascertain if this is true is to look at the growth in household take home pay after inflation. After the initial crisis in 2009, take home pay fell and its growth stayed negative for most industry and government [...]
Lord Mayor’s Show London 2015 parade: Something different for the weekend November 13, 2015 We all have our daily routines. Travel into such-and-such station, make a beeline for the office, grab a coffee on the way, preferred sandwich shop at lunch, back to work, another beeline to such-and-such station, then home again. And repeat. Hundreds of thousands of us cross paths in the Square Mile each weekday, turning into [...]
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visit: A new glorious chapter in UK-India relations is beginning November 12, 2015 The visit of India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, is the second landmark trip to the UK in a month, following the successful state visit by President Xi of China. Today, Modi meets the Queen and this evening he will be greeted in a manner that is normally the preserve of rock stars, by over 60,000 [...]
Hillary Clinton’s gender problem: Playing the victim is a desperate way to win November 12, 2015 Hillary Clinton has a women problem. Usually when candidates have issues with a certain voter demographic, it comes down to their inability to connect with historically marginalised groups. But Clinton’s problem is different. Although a September Washington Post-ABC News poll found she has lost support with left-leaning women – by a massive 29 percentage [...]
Generation traditional: Don’t believe the cliches about young people – give them a leg up November 12, 2015 Young people are sometimes accused of being lazy, lacking concentration and exhibiting an overwhelming lust for instant success – perhaps compounded by too much reality TV. But it turns out that Generation Z – those born between 1994 and 2010, and now starting to enter the workforce – are actually very realistic about what it [...]
With Iraq pumping oil at its fastest rate since the early 1960s, is this the end of the road for US shale? November 12, 2015 Chris Beauchamp, a senior market analyst at IG, says Yes While oil prices continue to command attention, the shale industry has slipped beneath the radar. Production continues to rise, having skyrocketed in recent years. New drilling techniques have allowed production to remain profitable even as the price falls. But now, a reckoning is due. Production [...]
Bank of England governor Mark Carney’s speech shows there’s more to the City than past mistakes November 12, 2015 It is perhaps a mark of how far we’ve come since 2008 that the governor of the Bank of England can suggest that the time has come for people to start showing bankers a little respect. Mark Carney may have ruled out “hugging a banker” (in the way that David Cameron might have hugged a [...]