Ed Miliband: Leaving the EU would be catastrophic for business November 10, 2014 Writing exclusively for City AM, Labour leader Ed Miliband argues that leaving the EU would be a "historic moment of economic self-harm". We live at a crucial time in Britain’s relationship with the European Union, one which will determine the future of our country for decades to come. In the past year Nigel [...]
Fall of the Berlin Wall: The weary West has forgotten how it won the Cold War November 9, 2014 “Right Here, Right Now, There is no other place that I want to be, Right Here, Right Now, Watching the world wake up from history” – Jesus Jones, Right Here, Right Now Experiencing the fall of the Berlin Wall – whose twenty-fifth anniversary just passed this weekend – is one of those historical events (a [...]
City Matters: Business must stand up and be counted – and put the facts into the EU debate November 9, 2014 OVER the last few weeks, I have had the opportunity to discuss the political situation in Britain, and the state of Britain’s relations with the EU, with business and political leaders in both Brussels and London. It is no exaggeration to say that there has never been such concern in business about politics. This is [...]
Fintech, reshoring and infrastructure: Britain has £300bn of potential November 9, 2014 TODAY, the country’s leading politicians and business figures are getting together at the CBI Annual Conference to debate ideas for future growth. As it is becoming clear that the UK economy has turned a corner, the challenge now is to ensure long-term growth and prosperity that is shared by all. So where will the main [...]
Is Ed Miliband holding the Labour Party back from winning the general election next year? November 9, 2014 Kate McCann is political reporter at City A.M, says Yes. Labour is in the midst of an odd sort of crisis. On the surface, the party is doing alright – it is generally ahead in the polls, despite a surprisingly united Tory party, and has a couple of vote-winning policies to its name. Yet below [...]
25 years later: Remembering the fall of the Berlin Wall November 9, 2014 This weekend, the world observes the 25th anniversary of one of the most historic events in modern history, the fall of the Berlin Wall. The wall, erected by the German Democratic Republic of East Berlin in 1961 and fortified for nearly 30 years, was built to stem the flow of defectors from the Eastern bloc [...]
Bank competition is picking up speed – and this inquiry is a vital next step November 6, 2014 YESTERDAY, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that it will be launching far-reaching investigations into the state of competition in the personal current account and smaller business banking markets. This is an extremely significant development, and one that the government welcomes. It is exactly why we created the CMA. A key part of our [...]
How John Lewis took over Christmas – and restored festive cheer to all Britons November 6, 2014 When I was young, Christmas was a magical time, filled with wonder and delight. But as I grew older, and Father Christmas was revealed for who he really was (thanks dad), the shine wore off. Sure, I still look forward to it, but the crass commercialisation has slowly chipped away at this special time, and [...]
Is Lord Hill right that everyone should calm down about the £1.7bn EU surcharge row? November 6, 2014 Alisdair McIntosh, director of Business for New Europe, says Yes. Lord Hill says that “the sensible thing now is to try to calm the situation down, and to look at the facts and look at a practical solution”. He’s right. The £1.7bn looks very different in context. It reflects adjustments over more than a decade, [...]
Lord Myners’ report into Royal Mail mustn’t get lost in the post November 5, 2014 It's the privatisation row that won’t go away. Royal Mail’s shares may have performed limply since their post-flotation peak earlier this year, but their initial surge makes it a safe bet that the sell-off will feature heavily during next year’s general election campaign. Two reports – from the National Audit Office and the Business [...]