It’s time for a London mayor who wants the job – Stephen Greenhalgh August 6, 2015 In September 1993, I was in a bar in New York, a self-styled “British Alehouse” on the Upper East Side. There was a man speaking: “I want to be the next mayor of New York!” he boomed. That man’s name? Rudy Giuliani. And the most striking thing was how much thought he had given – [...]
Don’t bank on a rise in interest rates to end poor returns for savers August 6, 2015 To no-one's surprise, the Bank of England’s rate-setting committee kept the base rate at 0.5 per cent yesterday. While anyone with a mortgage will have breathed a sigh of relief, savers will take the announcement as further confirmation that they’re unlikely to earn a decent return any time soon. But is the low base [...]
With just one member voting for a rate rise, is the Bank of England MPC right to be so dovish? August 6, 2015 Nina Skero is an economist at the Centre for Economics and Business Research, says Yes Given the absence of inflationary pressure in the UK, and the pound’s current strength against most major currencies other than the dollar, holding the base rate steady at 0.5 per cent is a sound decision. Inflation continues to hover around [...]
Super Thursday: Why business wants the Bank of England to hold its nerve August 5, 2015 As the UK’s economic recovery solidifies, the siren calls for interest rate rises are intensifying. Even the governor of the Bank of England – who no one would describe as a monetary policy hawk – has begun to prepare the ground for rate hikes in the not-too-distant future. With the US Federal Reserve set to [...]
Hiking rates in September could be an error of historic proportions by the US Fed August 5, 2015 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) member and Atlanta Fed president Dennis Lockhart has said that it would take a sharp worsening in the data to persuade him that the US Fed shouldn’t raise rates in September. Lockhart stated: “I think there is a high bar right now to not acting… it will take a significant [...]
Does Spain’s surging economy show that a recipe of austerity and reform works? August 5, 2015 Holger Schmieding is chief economist at Berenberg, says Yes The Eurozone’s recipe of tough love, whereby members can get help if they accept tough conditions, is working. This means repairing their budgets and improving their growth potential through labour market and other supply-side reforms. The medicine tastes bitter for a while, as Britain discovered when [...]
Britain must embrace its risk-takers – not leave economic growth to chance August 4, 2015 The words risk and business are often brought together to conjure up colourful stereotypes like Gordon Gekko, Bernie Madoff or the “Wolf of Wall Street” – an individual who is ruthless, excessive and above all a “risk-taker”. Disapproving critics say the City itself is a place that shamefully encourages and rewards risk-taking. And we hear [...]
Response to Cecil the Lion’s death is a sad lesson in the irrationality of public opinion August 4, 2015 Alas poor Cecil! Close personal friend of mine, sadly dead now. The catchphrases of the Scottish comedian Bob Doolally capture the outpourings of grief among the Twitterati at the death of the now famous lion. The mourning is mixed with incoherent rage, as long-standing opponents of torture and capital punishment demand that the American dentist [...]
There’s nothing fishy about the government selling its stake in RBS August 4, 2015 Red herrings, known for their pungent odour, are said to have been used by escaping prisoners as a way of throwing the pursuing bloodhounds off their scent. Who knows if it ever worked. But if your nose tells you that there’s something fishy about the government’s decision to start selling off its shares in the [...]
As the use of ageing Tornado bombers in Iraq is extended, have defence cuts hit our security? August 4, 2015 Tom Wilson is resident associate fellow at the Centre for the New Middle East at The Henry Jackson Society, says Yes In Britain, we devote a great deal of time debating the morality and efficacy of intervention in many desperate parts of the world. But increasingly, that debate is turning into an exercise in theoretics, [...]