Shinzo Abe’s snap elections: Can they save Japan’s flagging economy? November 18, 2014 Mark Williams, chief Asia economist at Capital Economics, says Yes. The lustre has come off Abenomics and its three arrows of fiscal, monetary and structural reform. The decision to postpone the sales tax hike that had long been scheduled for next year puts a huge dent in the government’s goal of eliminating the budget deficit [...]
How to destroy Islamic State: What Obama could learn from Wall Street November 17, 2014 TWENTY years ago, I sat on Wall Street as an expectant, newly-hired investment banker, being trained in the arts (although there was some science involved) of corporate finance, bond maths, and company valuations. One phrase from a shouty lecturer remains imprinted on my mind to this day. “Life’s just a stream of cashflows,” he bellowed [...]
The financial crisis saw the UK become more equal. That was nothing to celebrate November 17, 2014 “The rich keep getting richer”. If you’ve been watching Channel 4 over recent weeks, you will likely have been subjected to unsubstantiated claims such as this. Viewers of last week’s “How Rich Are You?” programme probably came away with the conclusion that the gap between rich and poor was ever-widening. Before making a show littered [...]
Warning lights are flashing on the global economy: The reform laggards will suffer November 17, 2014 DAVID Cameron has warned of an unstable global economy. He says red lights are flashing on the dashboard. They are, but only in some parts of the world. Elsewhere, recovery looks firmly entrenched. Hot on the heels of US Treasury secretary Jack Lew’s comments about a “lost decade” in Europe, the Prime Minister’s remarks show [...]
The financial crisis saw the UK become more equal. That was nothing to celebrate November 17, 2014 THE RICH keep getting richer”. If you’ve been watching Channel 4 over recent weeks, you will likely have been subjected to unsubstantiated claims such as this. Viewers of last week’s “How Rich Are You?” programme probably came away with the conclusion that the gap between rich and poor was ever-widening. Before making a show littered [...]
How to destroy Islamic State: What Obama could learn from Wall Street November 17, 2014 TWENTY years ago, I sat on Wall Street as an expectant, newly-hired investment banker, being trained in the arts (although there was some science involved) of corporate finance, bond maths, and company valuations. One phrase from a shouty lecturer remains imprinted on my mind to this day. “Life’s just a stream of cashflows,” he bellowed [...]
Warning lights are flashing on the global economy – and it’s the reform laggards who will suffer November 17, 2014 DAVID Cameron has warned of an unstable global economy. He says red lights are flashing on the dashboard. They are, but only in some parts of the world. Elsewhere, recovery looks firmly entrenched. Hot on the heels of US Treasury secretary Jack Lew’s comments about a “lost decade” in Europe, the Prime Minister’s remarks show [...]
Is Mark Carney right that clawback may need to cover all bankers’ pay, not just bonuses? November 17, 2014 Alex Edmans, a finance professor at London Business School and Wharton, says Yes. Pay packages should ensure that executives act in the long-run interest of their firms. Short-run bonuses incentivise bankers to boost near-term earnings at the expense of long-run value – such as writing subprime loans or manipulating rates. Clawbacks will deter myopic actions, [...]
A crude conspiracy: Saudi Arabia’s oil war is about far more than economics November 16, 2014 Having worked in Washington for the better part of a decade, I absolutely despise conspiracy theories, as they simply do not explain the world as I’ve found it. Rather than an evil, omniscient series of Bond villains ruling things, my experience is that human error and fallibility explain far more. As Bob Woodward’s key source [...]
Alan Yarrow: My plans as lord mayor – creating wealth and championing volunteering November 16, 2014 As those of you who braved the elements last Saturday will know, there’s a new lord mayor in town. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to take over from Fiona Woolf in this 900 year old office. It is a big job, a big challenge, but one I am determined to meet. One of [...]