Should Royal Mail still have to deliver to all the UK for the same price? November 19, 2014 Duncan O’Leary, deputy director of Demos, says Yes. Before Royal Mail was privatised, business secretary Vince Cable stated that the “overarching objective” of the sale was to secure the universal service obligation. In doing so, the government entered into a contract with two groups. First, shareholders, who knew what they were investing in – a [...]
Coal is the fuel of the future – but not as we’ve ever known it before November 18, 2014 BRITAIN faces a two-pronged energy quandary. The government remains determined to close old polluting coal power stations and wants to become more reliant on cleaner gas plants to keep the lights on. But just as this reliance on gas grows, our North Sea oil and gas reserves are in steep decline and there remains a [...]
Corporation tax is getting easier to avoid: It’s time to abolish it November 18, 2014 CORPORATE tax avoidance is once again prominent in the news. When Jean-Claude Juncker, the new European Commission president, was Prime Minister of Luxembourg, the country has been accused of operating as a vast tax shelter. Leaked documents have suggested that special tax arrangements were agreed with over 300 multinational companies. The deals were entirely within [...]
Why predictions of rapid real wage growth are likely to be proved wrong November 18, 2014 IN 2014, the UK economy is likely to have grown by over 3 per cent, employment growth has been remarkably strong, some progress has been made on reducing the deficit, and inflation remains low and stable, despite yesterday’s slight uptick to 1.3 per cent on the consumer price index (CPI). But of all the statistics [...]
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 [...]