Putin is about to win his cynical bet in Ukraine: The West is truly dead August 23, 2015 I am becoming worryingly convinced that Vladimir Putin must be a big fan of this column. Just a few days on from me revealing that he is odds-on favourite to become the super-villain in the next Bond caper, the Russian President confirmed my worst suspicions. Falling back on one of his late-Roger-Moore-era stunts, Putin piloted [...]
City Matters: The five key commitments the City wants from the next mayor of London August 23, 2015 We only have to wait until the end of September before we know who is going to represent the two main political parties in the race to become the next mayor of London. These aspiring London politicians with ambitions to succeed Boris Johnson are gearing themselves up for a busy few months. From now until [...]
Will Greece’s snap general election put the country’s third bailout deal at risk? August 23, 2015 Simon French, chief economist at Panmure Gordon, says Yes. Having just parted with €23bn to start the recapitalisation of Greek banks and to cover debt repayments, it’s inconceivable that Greece’s creditors will release the further €18bn due by 15 November. The key to receiving this money is a successful first review of progress on structural [...]
COP21 talks: Why action on climate change has become an economic imperative August 20, 2015 In just 100 days, world leaders will gather in Paris for the COP21 climate change talks. The urgent need for action to reduce CO2 emissions and stop global warming was recently described by both Barack Obama and Pope Francis as a “moral imperative” and summed up by President Obama who said: “We are the first [...]
GCSE results 2015: Six ways Britain’s world-beating education system could be better still August 20, 2015 With the publication of GCSE results, education is in the spotlight once again. Despite inevitable criticisms of our schools, colleges and universities, we should remind ourselves occasionally that what we have is, in world terms, a pretty good set-up. Young people get access to free schooling up to 18 and to higher education effectively free [...]
Political meddling threatens London City Airport’s future: It’s a depressingly familiar story August 20, 2015 The latest twist in the London City Airport saga was laid out in these pages yesterday, with the news that a number of international parties are looking to bid for the site. But any sale, and the future of the airport, is heavily dependent on its prospects for growth. Those growth prospects ought to [...]
As the price of US oil slides to almost $40 per barrel, has it still got further to fall? August 20, 2015 Alex Dryden, global market strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management, says Yes With oil prices drilling multi-year lows, investors are asking how much further they can fall. Predicting the movement of oil is difficult even at the best of times. However, a look at the supply and demand dynamics suggests that black gold could slide [...]
Blame complex tax rules and a lack of competition for the airport VAT debacle August 19, 2015 I arrived back from holiday at Heathrow last week. After I picked up my bags, I went through customs and I saw some stewardesses walking through a passageway that avoided the arrivals duty free shopping area. I had everything I needed, so I decided to skip the shops and go through the passageway to head [...]
London can be top of the pile for skills and tech: New York shows us how August 19, 2015 Everyone in this city has their own story. Mine, like so many Londoners, is of someone whose parents moved here to make a better life for themselves and their family. And now, as my campaign picks up momentum, I’m fighting hard to become Labour’s candidate to be mayor of London. What an incredible honour. I [...]
Don’t turn ecigarettes into another tool of the state health nannies August 19, 2015 The technological breakthrough of ecigarettes has placed the medical establishment and taxpayer-funded public health advocates in a bit of a quandary. The agreed strategy to date has been to advise smokers that, in broad terms, they must “quit or die”. But a colossal range of weird and wonderful new smokeless nicotine delivery products has inclined [...]