The only way to make HS2 cheaper? Build HS3 September 18, 2025 It’s a basic fact of economics that the more efficiently you make something, the easier it is to bring down the price. Among the best-known examples is the Ford Model T, one of the top-selling cars in the 20th century with more than 15 million produced. The manufacturing process became so efficient, and each car’s [...]
Labour’s AI ambitions will clash with its housebuilding targets September 18, 2025 It was all smiles on Tuesday as Chancellor Rachel Reeves became the latest PPE grad politician to don her PPE robes, in a visit to a construction site in Waltham Cross where she unveiled Google’s new data centre. The opening was a moment of celebration, as Google announced another £5bn investment into the UK, a [...]
Young people are headed for pensioner poverty – and there’ll be no Triple Lock to save them September 18, 2025 Younger generations stand no chance of enjoying the kind of comfort current pensioners in their old age. We need a policy reset to help the young build wealth now, says John Oxley There was good news once again this week for pensioners, as the Triple lock delivers them a 4.7 per cent increase next year. [...]
Starmer and Macron face a shared Waterloo September 18, 2025 Facing crippling national debt and a politically divided public, both Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron have proved unable to implement necessary economic reforms, and both are heading for a downfall driven by market forces, says Helen Thomas A country gripped by the highest debt levels since the Second World War; an unpopular leader facing a [...]
Britain is heading for a fiscal crisis September 18, 2025 Without immediate, credible action to rein in spending, contain debt and keep inflation under control, Britain will sleepwalk into disaster, says Gerard Lyons The UK is in danger of sleepwalking into economic torpor. The issues we face are real, sizeable but, crucially, solvable. However, solutions have too often been evaded through short-term fixes and political [...]
What the US tech investments tell us about the UK’s public markets September 18, 2025 There was some debate in the City AM newsroom on Tuesday over which story should grace the front page yesterday. On the one hand, news of £30bn worth of tech investment offered the kind of optimism we’re always looking out for, but on the other hand news came that global fund managers were pulling out [...]
What happens when Reddit runs the global financial system? September 18, 2025 40 per cent of AI answers are derived from Reddit – that could mean crypto Reddit bros potentially influencing how our most trusted financial institutions, says Lewis Liu I had the honor of spending most of last week at the BIS Innovation Summit in Basel, debating AI policy for the global financial system with central [...]
Britain has swapped the Brussels yoke for rule by Washington September 17, 2025 The problem for Keir Starmer during this state visit is that Donald Trump treats allies much worse than adversaries – and once he realised how needy Britain really is, things will get far worse, says Bruno Maçães In a recent interview, Keir Starmer expressed his disappointment that the Mandelson affair ended as badly as it [...]
Like Covid, we ignore AI exponentials at our peril September 17, 2025 The Notebook: Where the City’s movers and shakers have their say. Today, it’s Marc Warner, chief executive of AI firm Faculty It’s February 2020. A little known disease called coronavirus is spreading exponentially. It seemed early to act – but before long, the NHS risked being overwhelmed and lockdown was unavoidable. It’s almost a cliche [...]
The downfall of the Roman empire and the future of American democracy September 17, 2025 An erratic leader, a weak Senate and ill-judged economic policies leading to a contraction in world trade. The fall of the Roman Empire was followed by over 1000 years of stagnation. Donald Trump should take note, says George Maher Donald Trump’s state visit will be accompanied by much debate about what his Presidency means for [...]