Finance for terrorists: Why it’s proving so hard to choke off Islamic State November 12, 2014 Islamic State’s (IS) gruesome beheading videos thrust it onto the world stage and galvanised Western military intervention. But just as the group’s propaganda machine combines medieval barbarism with the very modern power of social media, so its finances combine old-fashioned looting and pillaging with high-tech illicit funding. By many estimates, IS is now the richest [...]
As the Bank of England predicts low inflation for longer, is real wage growth here to stay? November 12, 2014 Rob Wood is chief UK economist at Berenberg Bank, says Yes. Real wage growth is here to stay, but it’s important to keep some perspective. We are finally seeing wages rise above inflation, partly because petrol and food price falls have dragged the latter down. Money wage growth remains weak, if better than a few [...]
Politicians must pledge action on airport expansion now – and end 40 years of failure November 11, 2014 The Airports Commission launched its public consultation on the three listed options for airports expansion yesterday. This follows the Commission’s clear recommendation that London and the South East needs one additional runway by 2030. Given this critical milestone in the journey to getting a political decision to build a new runway, it’s worth taking stock [...]
Is Ed Miliband a rational economic person? Or is it all about narrative? November 11, 2014 THE LEADER of the Labour party has provided us with a very effective piece of forward guidance. Ed Miliband’s statement that he would bring in a mansion tax on properties worth more than £2m has already had a dramatic impact. The market for expensive properties in London has more or less ground to a halt, [...]
The G20 must not let the post-crisis regulatory storm jeopardise global growth November 11, 2014 FOR ITS decisive and co-ordinated action to deal with the financial crisis, the G20 won a lot of credibility. But as it prepares for its latest summit in Brisbane this week, we now need this forum for governments and central banks from the 20 major economies to act decisively again, and adjust the direction of [...]
Will the FCA’s cap on payday lender charges lead to an upsurge in the use of loan sharks? November 11, 2014 John Lamidey, senior partner at Arminius Associates and former chief executive of the Consumer Finance Association, says Yes. There has already been a significant increase in community illegal lending. The Illegal Money Lending Team for England saw a 62 per cent rise in 2013-14 for successful prosecutions. An estimated 310,000 households are borrowing from illegal [...]
Miliband’s meaningless EU Polyfilla can’t hide his hostility to business November 10, 2014 WRITING for City A.M. in advance of his speech at the CBI conference yesterday, Ed Miliband penned 700 words of waffle. Ostensibly, this was on the pretext of setting out Labour’s position on the European Union. But his policy was so topsy-turvy, it made you feel seasick. It was so contorted, it would have made [...]
Further tax hikes are neither necessary nor desirable – whichever way you cut it November 10, 2014 IMPORTANT voices are softening up the public for significant tax rises after next year’s election. Last week, the Institute for Fiscal Studies’s Paul Johnson wrote an article entitled “Whichever way you cut it, taxes need to rise”. This view is often echoed by left-leaning political parties and economists, who talk about the need for a “balanced [...]
Creativity and optimism will help Britain cope with the robot onslaught November 10, 2014 THE ROBOTS are coming, and they’re after your job. New research from Oxford University and Deloitte will be sure to send a shiver down the spine of British workers. It showed that up to 35 per cent of jobs in the UK could be destroyed by automation and computerisation. Deloitte argued that this would cause [...]
With new global rules for banks unveiled, are we nearing the end of too big to fail? November 10, 2014 Dr Thomas Huertas, a partner at EY and head of its global regulatory network, says Yes. Tougher regulation reduces the likelihood that banks will fail – but it can still happen. In that event, yesterday’s rules assure that the bank will have enough funding from investors to absorb even extreme losses. So investors, not taxpayers, [...]