Labour’s faulty rent control plans reflect the shallowness of UK politics today September 8, 2014 WHY DO politicians advocate policies which deal with the symptoms of problems rather than the underlying issues directly? In the past week we’ve seen Liberal Democrats react to expensive childcare by pledging to roll out “free” care for all two year-olds, which they say will help struggling families. George Osborne, meanwhile, has promised to cap [...]
England is right to shake off its complacency about a disastrous Scottish Yes September 8, 2014 IT’S A sad fact of modern life that, while divorce can be painful, the financial devastation that follows in its wake can be far more serious and long-lived. The effect of Scotland walking away from the rest of the United Kingdom would be no exception. However, some in England have argued that we should welcome [...]
As politicians pledge more powers to Scotland, could this swing the referendum’s outcome? September 8, 2014 Rob Wood, chief UK economist at Berenberg Bank, says Yes. Scottish voters certainly want additional powers over their own affairs. If the UK government can credibly offer that without the need for splitting the country, it could convince some voters not to take the risk of independence. Alex Salmond has dismissed this so-called “devo max” [...]
The Neverendum: Why Britain won’t escape its existential crisis for decades September 7, 2014 Above almost everything else, human nature craves clarity. Global risk analysts must fight against this entirely understandable need every day, if we are to fulfil conservative theorist Edmund Burke’s moral admonition to see the messy world as it is, rather than as we would like it to be. But this analytical flaw of wishful thinking [...]
We’ve discovered the UK’s tech unicorns – now we must nurture their growth September 7, 2014 After creating its first product in the 1970s, it took Apple years to become one of the world’s most valuable companies. But in today’s technology sector, a new breed of tech firm is emerging – the unicorn. The unicorn is a startup that grows exponentially to reach a billion-dollar valuation within a few years of [...]
City Matters: How British businesses are building a better world in Africa today September 7, 2014 This week, I am on another of my overseas visits, this time to South and East Africa. I have worked in Africa throughout my professional career, and it is a continent close to my heart. So this visit is particularly exciting for me. Over the last few years, the narrative surrounding the “rise of Africa” [...]
Has the geopolitical crisis in Ukraine made Russia a no go zone for Western investors? September 7, 2014 Timothy Ash is head of emerging market research (excluding Africa) at Standard Bank, says Yes. As the West continues to shy away from Iran-style sanctions, which would ban secondary trading in debt and equity and thereby lock investors in positions, Russia is still technically investible. But it is a binary call on the country now [...]
Job interview techniques: How to answer the question “Tell us about yourself” September 5, 2014 “So tell us about yourself.” It’s a great question to ask – and to answer. Great to ask because it can blow up in candidates faces and exclude the ordinary, and great to answer because it is a brilliant opportunity to sell or resell yourself. “Well I’m 39, married, got a 2:1 in the distant [...]
Celebrity photos iCloud hack? Steve Jobs wouldn’t have let this happen September 5, 2014 So, it would appear that if I did take loads of photos of myself naked, shot a mucky video or a whole manner of other salacious digital tomfoolery, there’s a good chance it would get backed up to iCloud and I’d be hunted down by hackers who would expose me to the world. Thank goodness [...]
A screaming silence from free marketeers is jeopardising the vital EU-US trade deal September 4, 2014 The landmark free trade agreement currently being negotiated by the EU and the US has set off all kinds of noise this week, particularly after unions accused the government of failing to secure an explicit – and unnecessary – exemption for the NHS. But from the coverage in the UK, you could be forgiven for [...]