Forget HS2: Only radical education reform will rescue the Northern Powerhouse March 2, 2016 The head of Ofsted, Sir Michael Wilshaw, warned last week that secondary schools in Liverpool and Manchester were “going into reverse”. Too many pupils in Northern towns and cities are simply not prepared for the next phase of their education, training or employment. In Liverpool, for example, four out of every ten schools are judged [...]
From airport expansion to energy policy, our politicians are shirking the big decisions – and it’s partly our fault March 2, 2016 It was good to see City A.M. taking aim last month at the absence of long-term planning over energy policy. It is – and has been – an unholy mess for a long time with serious consequences for the economy and country. Only the most wild-eyed optimist would be reassured by EDF’s claim that construction of the [...]
Will Barclays’s restructuring programme actually improve prospects for the bank? March 2, 2016 Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, says Yes. Jes Staley, the new boss of Barclays, clearly takes the view that big is not necessarily beautiful when it comes to banking operations. The sale of the group’s African business and accelerated wind-down of non-core assets push Barclays further along the path of becoming a simplified [...]
Morrisons may not be the most obvious partner for Amazon, but there is method behind the marriage – and it could mean trouble for Asda, Tesco and Ocado March 1, 2016 Only one pound out of every £10 that Britons spend on groceries drops into Morrisons’ tills. Not a bad ratio, you might think, but like its bigger rivals (over £6 in every £10 is spent in Tesco, Sainsbury’s or Asda), Morrisons has been struggling with a declining market share. The Bradford-headquartered supermarket is not the [...]
Osborne is wrong: Brexit wouldn’t cause a “profound shock” – but would be a positive change of direction for Britain March 1, 2016 The actor Norman Reedus once said that “the dog with the loudest bark is the most afraid”. Last week, George Osborne showed how true this is, offering up warnings of the “profound shock” that would occur if the UK were to leave the EU and getting British diplomats to persuade G20 finance ministers to claim that [...]
London’s housing market is failing the capital’s workers: We can’t make this crisis someone else’s problem March 1, 2016 With house prices a staggering 13 times the average London wage, and rents taking up on average 60 per cent of London tenants' incomes, the prospect of finding an affordable place to live is slipping further out of reach for many of the capital’s four million-strong workforce. As the housing crisis deepens, workers from across the [...]
As Mervyn King warns that the project is doomed, is it time for the Eurozone to be broken up? March 1, 2016 Ruth Lea, economic adviser to the Arbuthnot Banking Group, says Yes. The Eurozone was always primarily a political project, a major stepping stone to the “ever closer union of the peoples of Europe,” but one with the profoundest economic consequences. Members have no control over their interest rates, their exchange rate or, indeed, fiscal policy. And, [...]
EU referendum: While David Cameron deems Brexit a leap in the dark, is a vote to Remain risk-free? February 29, 2016 David Cameron’s position on Brexit can be boiled down to five words: “a leap in the dark”. Leaving the EU is a risk we cannot take, he argues, because we can’t be certain that any new arrangements we may secure will be better for Britain than what we have today. For financial services, in particular, [...]
Britain needs to take a giant leap forward and embrace radical competition to achieve ultrafast broadband February 29, 2016 London is one of the world’s greatest cities, and arguably the pre-eminent global financial centre. The UK has 17 of Europe’s 40 tech unicorns (startups valued at $1bn or more), and all bar three of these are in London. And yet, compared to other European cities, its broadband infrastructure – the vital sensory network of a [...]
Socialism has created a humanitarian disaster in Venezuela February 29, 2016 Venezuela's accelerating economic meltdown is rapidly turning into a full-fledged humanitarian crisis. For too many in that country, the pervasive shortages of food, medicine, electricity, and other basic goods are making everyday life a nightmare. It is Venezuela’s version of the “winter of discontent,” except that it has been brewing for much longer and its [...]