Why banks are humanity’s most perfect socialist institutions – and why we need to talk about bank capital March 29, 2016 Nine years after the start of the financial crisis, there has still been no rational discussion about bank capital. Blame this on the banks, who haven’t set out the arguments. Money is a figment of the human imagination. Historically, we’ve tinkered with ways of making it appear real – stamping coins, printing notes, putting up [...]
Is Brexit the most likely outcome of the EU referendum? March 29, 2016 Dr Madsen Pirie, founder and president of the Adam Smith Institute, says Yes. In the 1975 referendum, the then Prime Minister Harold Wilson announced major reforms to the EU. In fact, he had a scant handful of trivial concessions that made no difference whatsoever. The vote was to stay in because people were told they were [...]
Why Chinese leaders are laughing at Donald Trump March 29, 2016 China has been having a field day watching political events unfold in the US. There was a great piece in the Guardian recently by Tom Phillips (Democracy is a joke, says China – Just look at Donald Trump) depicting how Chinese leaders are laughing over what we call democracy. The article tells how Chinese authoritarian [...]
Note to our next Mayor – don’t rush towards a morning lorry ban without a thought-through plan March 24, 2016 In recent months’ mayoral election debates have seen an increasing focus on quality of life issues. Certainly everyone can agree that we all want London to remain a great place in which to live and work. However, to remain great, London also has to be a good place to run business and succeed. That’s why the growing calls [...]
London house prices: Solving the capital’s housing crisis needs more than just cynical promises from mayoral hopefuls March 24, 2016 Tottenham’s resurgence near the top of the Premier League seems to have dovetailed with its housing market, which has shot up 10 per cent in a year. Massive investment across north east London from long term investors such as Grainger, Argent and Legal & General is transforming the area, with a high focus on build to rent. Crucially, many [...]
Despite recent terrorist attacks in Brussels the world is a lot safer than it has been in the past March 24, 2016 In times like these, it is easy to become downhearted by global events. Another horrific and appalling terrorist attack in Europe has caused many of us to feel that we live in an increasingly violent and turbulent world. Looking at the data, it is true that Islamist-related conflict has prompted a rise in the global [...]
The trouble with predictions: Forecasting the future is the easiest job out there March 24, 2016 Will the economy go into recession this year? Will the British electorate vote for Brexit? These are just two of the questions everyone would love to know the answer to and there is an army of people willing to forecast them. But is their track record at forecasting any good? For some of the big picture [...]
As Donald Trump wins comfortably in Arizona, does he have a clear path to the Republican nomination? March 24, 2016 Tim Worstall, senior fellow of the Adam Smith Institute, says Yes. To say that Trump is entirely unstoppable is perhaps a little too strong. As we used to say, who knows when Concorde might fall on your head – until it actually happened to one poor lady. But barring the absurd, Trump needs some 70 per [...]
How digital innovation is bringing prosperity to the world’s poorest March 24, 2016 There are approximately 2m adults in the UK who don’t have bank accounts. This statistic is shocking for a global finance hub, but it is dwarfed by the 2bn people worldwide who lack access to financial services. For the unbanked, having no means of saving or managing their finances can mean being locked in a [...]
Terrorism is now a key business risk – and too many companies are insufficiently prepared March 24, 2016 Terrorism is a threat that has clearly registered with London’s top executives. Along with fraud, regulation and reputation, it’s up there as a major risk that could damage their business and, worse, harm the public and their employees. With the threat level currently at “severe”, we should be under no illusions: terrorists would dearly love to [...]