Ignore the immigration rhetoric: Record UK net migration is a cause for celebration August 27, 2015 Listen to the political rhetoric and one thing seems clear: immigration is bad, and we have way too much of it. Every time new migration figures are published, as happened yesterday, politicians call for draconian measures to be introduced to cut the numbers. And yet, with the government’s crude target to get net migration [...]
As new appointments are criticised, has the House of Lords become an embarrassment? August 27, 2015 Katie Ghose is chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society, says Yes We already have the largest chamber in the democratic world and yesterday’s expansion highlights why nobody else has a chamber like it. The growth in size – part of the never-ending arms race to pack the House of Lords with supporters – costs [...]
Jackson Hole: Investors seeking clarity on the US Federal Reserve rate hikes will be disappointed August 26, 2015 As investors start to return from their summer holidays, one date in particular will be looming large in their thinking. The seventeenth of September is tipped by many to be the date when the US Federal Reserve will finally start to hike interest rates as a first step on the long road to “normalisation”. [...]
It’s the right climate to scrap the Department of Energy and Climate Change August 26, 2015 The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is small compared to other government departments, with a gross annual expenditure of just £5.7bn. However, as the government grapples with how to continue to drive down its deficit, abolishing this arm of the state should be a key priority: it would both provide vital savings [...]
Is WPP’s Sir Martin Sorrell right to “remain a raging bull” in relation to Chinese growth? August 26, 2015 Andy Rothman is investment strategist at Matthews Asia, says Yes China’s stock market has experienced a significant correction, and Beijing engineered a minor devaluation of the RMB, but neither of these events reflect a worse-than-expected slowdown in the real economy, and there are no signs that the A-share correction is having a significant impact on [...]
The poorest have most to gain from the Financial Conduct Authority making it easier to innovate August 25, 2015 One of the FCA’s statutory objectives is to promote effective competition in the financial services sector in the interests of consumers. As the economy continues to settle into a new phase, it is fair to ask whether the FCA should adjust the balance of its focus on market enforcement and instead ensure resources are [...]
Ignore the doom-merchants: History shows why robots won’t destroy our jobs August 25, 2015 Economics is often described as the dismal science, but it regularly contains cheerful material. A paper by the leading US economic historian Joel Mokyr made for exuberant holiday reading. Written for the top Journal of Economic Perspectives, it is entirely in English and contains not a single mathematical symbol. Mokyr examines the history of [...]
Chinese stock market crash 2015: Capitalism is not in crisis – but China’s phoney model is August 25, 2015 There's nothing quite like a bout of market volatility to prompt a round of gleeful crowing from the usual suspects that “capitalism is in crisis”. This rather seems to miss the point that failures and successes, winners and losers are all essential and necessary components of an effectively functioning free market. What the [...]
As Labour purges leadership election voters, will its next leader struggle for legitimacy? August 25, 2015 Tom Mludzinski is head of political polling at ComRes, says Yes No matter who wins, the next Labour leader will have a difficult job in uniting the party. If, as many commentators are predicting, Jeremy Corbyn is victorious, one of his biggest challenges will be to get the Parliamentary Labour Party behind him. Many have [...]
No, leading economists are not supporting Labour leadership candidate Jeremy Corbyn’s far-left agenda August 25, 2015 "Jeremy Corbyn wins economists’ backing for radical plan” thundered the Observer’s front page on Sunday. As I meandered around the supermarket, I did a double-take. Would distinguished economists really back printing money to fund government investment, rent controls, widespread renationalisation (in some cases without compensation), a “maximum wage”, huge tax hikes and greater powers for [...]