EU referendum: Why protecting the pound is the jewel in the crown of Cameron’s deal February 24, 2016 Following the Prime Minister’s EU renegotiation, the debate is already raging. Myriad topics, from sovereignty to benefits, are dominating the headlines. But what shouldn’t be lost in the detail – and should be celebrated – is David Cameron’s success in protecting the pound. This, alongside related hard-won measures, has far-reaching and positive consequences for Britain’s [...]
Memo from business to politicians: Don’t let the EU referendum paralyse real governing February 24, 2016 So now it’s official. Britain’s politicians and opinion-formers will spend the next four months in hyper-drive, as they seek to convince the public of the case to leave or remain in the European Union. Many Westminster-watchers have already cleared the decks, reasoning that little else will get done while megaphone diplomacy, claims, and counter-claims dominate the [...]
Is there a future for UK oil and gas? February 24, 2016 Alison Baker, head of UK oil and gas at PwC, says Yes. Times are tough. Over-supply in the market, lower for longer oil prices and the impending transition to a low carbon world, alongside cost management and working capital issues, are hitting the UK oil and gas industry hard. But it’s not the beginning of the [...]
Millennial woes may seem over the top but Generation Y could have a point with their moaning February 23, 2016 Last week, this paper ran a story based on research which found Generation Y (born between the early 80s and the late 2000s) is more like Generation Whiny in the workplace. The research, by Workfront, found bosses perceived so-called millennials as more prone to a moan than Generation X, and bigger babies than the Baby [...]
Britain should vote for Brexit before the inevitable Eurozone meltdown February 23, 2016 Despite David Cameron’s embarrassing imitation of Oliver Twist in Brussels last week, his negotiations ended up mired in the minutiae of trivial amendments to the UK’s relationship with Europe. Small restrictions to child benefit and vague wording about exemption from a common currency and “ever closer union” are the thin gruel that our hapless Prime [...]
Forget Boris for Brexit: Why the real story is that David Cameron’s EU deal isn’t legally binding February 23, 2016 Boris Johnson sells papers. So for political hacks who view everything through the prism of party politics, both his divergence from David Cameron over the EU and the prospect of a future leadership run are understandably exciting. But in focusing so much on him, journalists are missing a far more important story which could influence [...]
Is former No 10 tech guru Rohan Silva right that competition authorities should investigate Amazon’s book market dominance? February 23, 2016 Alex Krasodomski-Jones, digital researcher at Demos, says Yes. Amazon’s continuing dominance of the book market is problematic for both industry standards and for anybody who believes in the power of books to challenge and educate us. First, its dominance ensures that its working conditions and management style remain unchallenged. But its dominance costs us too. You [...]
Letter: The City of London Corporation should remain neutral in Brexit debate February 22, 2016 We, the undersigned, understand that the City of London Corporation is to decide this week whether or not to adopt a corporate position on British membership of the EU. We write to urge the Corporation to continue its neutrality on the issue. Such a decision would effectively be the Corporation adopting a partisan political stance [...]
Putin is playing bad cards well in Syria and Ukraine – but his days are numbered February 22, 2016 Given the hustle and bustle of modern life, a primary problem for political risk analysts is that they have far too much information rather than too little. I could literally spend the whole day reading other people’s articles, and never make a dent in a day’s worth of foreign policy analysis around the world. Given [...]
HSBC’s decision to keep its HQ in London is a ringing endorsement of the whole UK February 22, 2016 HSBC has not been far from the headlines in the past few days, and we can expect more news from the global banking giant today as it publishes its Annual Results. The issue that has kept so many City figures interested in the company for the past few months has been its decision over where [...]