Why the Fed should stick to its guns: The case for raising interest rates this month September 10, 2015 The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) held rates at 0.5 per cent yesterday for the 78th meeting in a row – no surprise about that. Ian McCafferty remains the lone hawk voting for an immediate rise. The rest of the Committee members are sticking to the line that we’ll need to [...]
The National Living Wage could make eradicating the deficit a three Parliament problem September 10, 2015 Today we have upgraded our forecast for UK GDP growth to 2.6 per cent for this year and next. On the face of it, we should be content with such an outcome, particularly when looking at the economic problems facing the Eurozone and the recent slowdown in China that has reverberated across markets around the [...]
With Russia upping its military presence in Syria, is it time that the West put boots on the ground there? September 10, 2015 Michael Rubin, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and former Pentagon official, says Yes Make no mistake: no Western nation wants to put boots on the ground inside Syria. Risks would be high, costs immense, and logistics complex. The question, however, is whether there is any choice. On the anniversary of the 9/11 [...]
We should encourage foreign graduates to stay – The City View September 9, 2015 Last week, this newspaper ran a front page story warning that finance chiefs identify the skills gap as a bigger threat to our economy than a slowdown in China, cyber attacks or even a British exit from the EU. Today, we feature the case of an international student with a first class degree in accountancy [...]
Nuclear power can now sweep the developing world – safely September 9, 2015 With everyone fixated on the negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme, it is regrettable but perhaps understandable that the world has missed a crucial moment in the history of nuclear non-proliferation. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the government of Kazakhstan and a host of other international actors have agreed a deal to create the [...]
How Jeremy Corbyn’s People’s QE could win Labour the next general election September 9, 2015 According to SkyBet, Jeremy Corbyn is the 1/7 favourite to become the next Labour leader this weekend, with Yvette Cooper trailing in second place at 8/1. Bet365 puts the odds at 1/7 and 15/2 respectively. So if Corbyn is going to lose the leadership race, both the bookies and the political pundits will have [...]
Why it’s time to bring back a free market for sports tickets September 9, 2015 This year, anybody in the UK with an interest in sport has been spoilt for choice. The Ashes and Wimbledon both captured the public’s imagination once again and we still have the Rugby World Cup to look forward to. Alongside this, we continue to host some of the best music gigs in the world, [...]
As North Sea oil faces an investment collapse, is the economic case for an independent Scotland dying? September 9, 2015 Brian Monteith, director of the ThinkScotland think tank, says Yes The economic case for Scottish independence put forward last September was deeply flawed and didn’t add up. Neither the question of the currency arrangements nor funding an inflated public expenditure bill from future oil tax revenues were answered to the satisfaction of the Scottish people. [...]
EU referendum: Process stories about ‘purdah’ rules distract us from the real European Union debate – The City View September 8, 2015 It probably isn’t too much of a stretch to say that for the vast majority of people, “purdah” might as well be a brand of cat food. And yet this arcane device (limiting the activity of government during a campaign period) is currently at the heart of what passes for the debate around the [...]
Catastrophic EU VAT rules are destroying the digital sector September 8, 2015 In January, new EU VAT legislation was imposed on the broadcasting, telecoms and digital sectors, causing a crisis for SMEs. Thousands of businesses have closed, geo-blocking (the refusal of non-EU businesses to sell into the EU) is rampant, and the legislation threatens to wreck the Digital Single Market. In simple terms, the new [...]