Against the Grain: What chess champions can teach us about how businesses make decisions November 20, 2013 THE WORLD Chess Championship is underway, and the current champion – the Indian Viswanathan Anand – is trailing his young rival Magnus Carlsen by three to five. In the opinion of many, Carlsen is set fair to become the strongest ever human player. The match is an absorbing spectacle, but the game of chess is [...]
There’s much more to the financial services industry than London November 20, 2013 THE FRUITS of Britain’s banking industry stretch well beyond the Square Mile and Canary Wharf. This morning, for example, I will be speaking to members of Manchester’s business community. When it comes to picking impressive banking hubs, you may not think of the northern city that gave us Thomas de Quincey, Emmeline Pankhurst and the [...]
Letters to the editor – 21/11 – Gibraltar trouble, Pension fund, Best of Twitter November 20, 2013 Gibraltar trouble [Re: Spanish ambassador called over Gibraltar, yesterday] The Spanish government continues to play the Gibraltar card to bury political scandal and harsh economic news at home (including unemployment of 26 per cent, and youth unemployment well in excess of 50 per cent). After 300 years of separate development, the Gibraltarians surely have the [...]
UK recovery is built on a debt bubble that cannot last – it’s time for change November 19, 2013 RELIEF over recent economic data is over-done. Even if we are seeing pockets of growth in specific regions and sectors of the UK, it is far from clear that the structural imbalances in Britain’s economy have been addressed. In the last few years, the West has seen a number of financial crises of escalating seriousness, [...]
Government helped get my business going – now it’s boosting startups again November 19, 2013 TWENTY odd years ago, I stepped into a print shop on Albert Square in Manchester. It was an industrious place – full of whirring machines and the smell of printing ink. I knew then and there that I wanted to open my own printing business. But at 21 years of age, the bank manager wasn’t [...]
We should applaud the corporate contrarians who reveal misconduct November 19, 2013 THE PUBLIC has lost faith in key parts of the business sector. It has endured the mis-selling of payment protection insurance, the rigging of Libor, insider trading, and an ongoing probe into the forex markets. Something has gone badly wrong. But why do so few in business have the courage to speak out about wrongdoing [...]
Letters to the Editor – 20/11 – Stamp duty, India rising, Best of Twitter November 19, 2013 Stamp duty [Re: Calls grow for tax cut policies, Monday] The call from the Free Enterprise Group to scrap stamp duty on homes worth less than £500,000 highlights the growing frustration with Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT). Previously, it was simply an admin charge; now, it is a revenue-generating tax. This changed emphasis has a [...]
ACCA Comment: We should celebrate big businesses November 19, 2013 Large firms are bad at explaining their role in Britain’s economy BIG BUSINESS bashing is all the rage, whether over tax, rising energy costs, or bonuses. But as some point out, we need these businesses for our economy to make a full recovery, even if large companies need to change their ways and do more [...]
Don’t write off India: 2014 vote holds promise for the untapped Asian giant November 18, 2013 I AM just back from my latest trip to the sub-continent, having spent a week talking to the Indian political elite about their coming election for the Lok Sabha, India’s parliament, which is likely to be held in May 2014. While the Chinese Communist Party’s just-concluded plenum has rightfully overshadowed all else in Asian politics, [...]
Tories are spreading the ashes of party modernisation – and it’s a good thing November 18, 2013 AS I watched Sky News over breakfast yesterday, the discussion turned to a new venture from Prince Charles, dubbed a charity to help charities. As the discussants outlined the idea’s potential merits, presenter Eamonn Holmes wryly asked: “What was that similar thing David Cameron was pushing before the last election? The Big Society or something?” [...]