Of course we blame politicians for everything – they bring it on themselves February 10, 2014 IN OUR age,” George Orwell once remarked, “there is no such thing as ‘keeping out of politics’. All issues are political issues.” This, of course, is mainly because politicians have made it so. Politics is everywhere and politicians have an opinion on everything. In 1998, for example, Tony Blair and William Hague expressed concern about [...]
Diversity is great – but quotas for corporates are not the right answer February 10, 2014 THERE are only ten individuals from ethnic minority groups among the 289 top executives at FTSE 100 listed companies, a study by Green Park Diversity Analytics has found. Chuka Umunna, the shadow business secretary, is accordingly threatening that Labour would introduce quotas to get more minority directors on boards. Given the campaign for more women [...]
Letters to the Editor – 11/02 – White-collar jobs, Best of Twitter February 10, 2014 White-collar jobs [Re: Will the spread of automation mean the end of the white-collar worker?, yesterday] Automation is already a reality in financial services. Banks have automated risks systems in place, and vast amounts of money is generated from electronic and algorithmic trading. But the complete replacement of white-collar specialist roles with robots and machines [...]
Nasty, brutish, short: Why businesses prosper then die at an ever faster pace February 9, 2014 IF THOMAS Hobbes found himself walking down City streets today, he wouldn’t blink an eye. Business life seems to be getting increasingly short and rather nasty. Due to the accelerating rate of technological change, some economists believe we are heading toward a “winner takes all” era of unprecedented competition, enabled by an enormous number of [...]
City Matters: The City and Scotland are natural allies in protecting our global competitiveness February 9, 2014 SCOTLAND’S future relationship with the rest of the UK has once again been making headlines, as we edge closer to the September independence referendum. For Londoners, the “Scottish question” can seem far removed. But having visited Edinburgh and Aberdeen last week, it is clear to me that this relationship is crucial to firms on both [...]
London needs Crossrail Two but the Treasury doesn’t have to fund it February 9, 2014 IT MIGHT seem absurd to be talking about Crossrail 2 when Crossrail 1 has only just hit the halfway mark. But the uncomfortable truth – and I mean this literally for London’s rail users – is that, as soon as it opens, Crossrail 1 will be full to bursting. We are playing a desperate game [...]
Letters to the Editor – 10/02 – No more strikes, Falling giant, Best of Twitter February 9, 2014 No more strikes [Re: Politicians must end tube chaos, Friday] There is another way. In an era when huge ships plough the ocean, and vast aircraft fly the skies under the control of automated systems, just how difficult would it be to automate trains running along fixed tracks? Already US firms are trialling automated cars, [...]
City & Gild: We clamour for the individual touch at any price – and brands can answer the call February 7, 2014 Rich or poor, there’s one thing that everyone is striving for – individualism. While one woman’s individuality comes via a limited edition un-badged Hermes bag, another person’s comes from a Coke bottle with their name on it. The former unassuming but showy (or “knowy”) and bespoke, the latter showy and, well, also bespoke. Each answers [...]
Deflation can be good or bad but the Eurozone isn’t facing the bad sort yet February 6, 2014 AT THE European Central Bank (ECB) press conference yesterday, Mario Draghi was asked whether the Eurozone is tipping into deflation and whether the ECB has the tools needed to respond if it does. “Deflation” has become a bogeyman, the thing economists normally agree to fear most. But is that right? That deflation might be a [...]
The Long View: Bill Gates is gone and the dot-com era is over: It’s only the end of the beginning February 6, 2014 AS FACEBOOK turns ten, and with Bill Gates stepping down as Microsoft chairman, it feels like something is drawing to an end. But if so, it is only the end of the technological revolution’s beginning. It is extraordinary to look back now and think how visionary both Gates and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg were: Gates saw [...]