In praise of the Gurkhas and UK-Nepali friendship June 8, 2015 Tonight, a very special event will take place at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea. In the presence of the Queen and other Royals, a pageant will showcase the two hundredth anniversary of Gurkha service in the British army. Amid the spectacular show, there will be an opportunity, too, to reflect on the devastation that has [...]
After a row over ministers’ freedom to back the No vote, is David Cameron bungling EU renegotiation? June 8, 2015 Tim Knox, director of the Centre for Policy Studies, says Yes Successful negotiation is based on clarity, conviction and consistency. Sadly, in our renegotiations with the EU, clarity is scarce. Are we talking about an optout from ever-closer union? Or is it just a matter of limiting welfare entitlements? So too is conviction. Who can [...]
The Greek crisis will end in calamity: You can’t reconcile the irreconcilable June 7, 2015 Despite conventional wisdom almost constantly (and falsely) reassuring the public in literally thousands of columns that all would come right in the end, here we are, exactly as I said, on the edge of the abyss regarding the Greek crisis. The latest ‘final’ deadline for Greece to release the magical last €7.2bn of its current [...]
How to lose money: Our flawed fixation on the safety of cash is losing us billions every year June 7, 2015 Savers in the UK rely far too heavily on cash. Between us, we have an astonishing £729bn sitting in savings accounts of various kinds, and it’s been earning only around 1 per cent a year on average since 2009. Fifty per cent of that money is in instant access accounts earning less than half that. The [...]
The City must continue to fight to restore its reputation for integrity June 7, 2015 This week at the Mansion House, I will host one of the Square Mile’s biggest events of the year. The annual Bankers’ and Merchants’ Dinner provides an opportunity for the chancellor and the governor of the Bank of England to speak in front of an audience of senior business leaders, captains of industry, regulators and [...]
Will David Cameron fail to achieve fundamental reform of Britain’s EU membership terms? June 7, 2015 Brian Monteith, communications director of Global Britain, says Yes. When one considers the term “fundamental”, one might think that it would include leaving the Common Agricultural and Fisheries policies that increase the cost of food to British consumers and deliver poverty to third world countries. Or we might think it would include reducing the UK’s [...]
The US corporate debt market is close to boiling over – and Europe could be next June 4, 2015 How close is the corporate debt market to boiling over? Given the vast volumes of institutional and retail money that have flowed into high yield funds and other leveraged finance vehicles in recent years, it’s a key question for financial markets in both the US and Europe. For the last six years, corporate borrowers have [...]
It’s time for law firms to go public – and end the archaic partnership model June 4, 2015 On Monday, Gateley will become the first UK law firm to list as a public company. It should serve as a wake-up call for the entire industry and more firms should follow suit. For some lawyers, moving away from the partnership model will be terrifying – but it’s an essential evolution, not just for the success [...]
The City has no room for complacency about its global competitiveness June 4, 2015 Nearly 30 years of working in the City has taught me that successful times are the most dangerous times. Warren Buffett, in one of his recent newsletters, described the warning signs that see good times turn to bad as the ABC of business: arrogance, bureaucracy and complacency. Today, there is no room for complacency. The [...]
As the Greek saga continues, can only fiscal integration secure the Eurozone’s future? June 4, 2015 Lydia Prieg, a PhD student at the University of Cambridge, says Yes Greater fiscal union is the only sustainable solution for the Eurozone. Without coordinated redistribution, some countries are enjoying artificially low exchange and interest rates. This boosts exports and growth. Other countries have inappropriately high exchange and interest rates, which hinder exports and growth. [...]