The UK is the sport industry capital of the world – its businesses must lead the way with corporate responsibility March 11, 2016 In case you hadn’t noticed, the UK is sport mad. We watch, discuss, engage and play sport with great passion. So it’s not surprising that we are pretty damn good at the business of sport as well. Led by the Barclays Premier League we have an industry worth an estimated £24bn per year. But more [...]
Buy-to-let tax changes: A perfect storm for landlords and tenants March 11, 2016 Upcoming tax changes have ignited debate about the role private landlords should play in meeting the UK’s housing needs. Focus has fallen on buy-to-let but, as the Institute for Fiscal Studies, among others, has noted, landlords are taxed much less favourably than home owners. Following last year’s Autumn Statement, which outlined plans for an additional [...]
The EU has left it too late to do the right thing over the refugee crisis – and now Brexit looks like the less risky option March 11, 2016 Angela Merkel was cast as the heroine of the refugee crisis last year, bravely throwing open Germany’s borders to desperate masses attempting to cross the Mediterranean. By contrast, David Cameron and the UK more broadly was cast as the villain. Lurid (and false) claims we had taken in only around 200 refugees added colour to [...]
Is the proposed price cap for pre-pay customers an unwelcome intervention in the energy market? March 11, 2016 Tim Worstall, senior fellow of the Adam Smith Institute, and author of Chasing Rainbows: Economic Myths, Environmental Facts, says Yes. Of course the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) intervention is unwelcome: any price fixing whenever would be. The entire point of a market economy is that prices change to balance supply and demand. Price fixing, by [...]
Trust London Stock Exchange shareholders to make right decision over Deutsche Boerse bid March 10, 2016 The clock is ticking on what could be the final bourse mega-merger for a very long time. Certainly, if Deutsche Boerse succeeds in its bid to combine forces with the London Stock Exchange, it will create a European behemoth to rival American giant CME group. This outcome would leave the financial world with four enormous [...]
Business and the unions: We both back a third Heathrow runway – now get on with it March 10, 2016 We often read in the press about the latest bust-up between the unions and the business community. Yet there are any number of policies we agree on, especially those that help to deliver high-skilled quality employment and sustainable growth. Equally, we both get disappointed when the government falls short of the mark, particularly when the [...]
It’s Waterloo for the global economy – and we’re dangerously lacking reinforcements March 10, 2016 What has 1815 and the Battle of Waterloo got to do with 2016 and the world economy? On 18 June 1815, the Duke of Wellington could feel the battle slipping away, but he also knew the Prussians under General Blucher were coming and that could win the day. Fast forward to 2016 and there is no [...]
Three ways London can remain the fintech capital of the world March 9, 2016 London is the fintech capital of the world. Readers of City A.M. will no doubt nod with approval while reading through the key findings of the government's recent report demonstrating just how successful the capital is. From diverse international talent to specialist fintech investors, and an especially supportive policy environment, London is an out-and-out winner. But [...]
Aldi, Ocado, Morrisons, Tesco and Sainsbury’s are all making moves to win market share, but Asda’s next step is unclear March 9, 2016 The latest supermarket sales data has painted a slightly less gloomy picture than has become customary for Britain's big four grocers, hinting that the billions poured into lowering prices and luring back customers might finally be paying off. Despite a brutal price war that has savaged Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons, data from Kantar has shown [...]
Three reasons why the government will struggle to secure a good exit deal if Britain votes to leave the EU March 9, 2016 The path from now until referendum day on 23 June will be dominated by what is the most important debate our country has faced in a generation. There will undoubtedly be a fair amount of emotive rhetoric, and quite rightly so. But it is equally important that the conversation be anchored in rational argument: let’s hope [...]