Could the Commonwealth become more important to the UK than the EU? July 23, 2014 Ruth Lea, economic adviser to the Arbuthnot Banking Group, says Yes. Crystal ball gazing is a risky business. But it’s a useful exercise that can throw up some fascinating, albeit highly provisional, conclusions. The Commonwealth is already a colossus, comprising 53 countries and over 2bn people. In its diversity, the Commonwealth represents the modern world [...]
Europe must kickstart securitisation to reboot its stuttering economy July 23, 2014 WHEN the IMF revised down its 2014 growth forecast for the Eurozone last week, it felt like a sad refrain rather than a surprise. GDP in the single currency bloc is now expected to grow by just 1 per cent this year. This average masks wide variations across the 18 member states. Germany’s economy motored [...]
Putin has exposed a chilling truth about the West: It no longer exists July 22, 2014 Somehow Europe’s leaders have managed to undershoot even my subterranean expectations. Ahead of an EU foreign ministers meeting yesterday to plan a common response to the Malaysia Airlines atrocity, leaks made it all too clear that this whole process would not amount to much. But the results – even for the EU – are almost comically [...]
Britain leads the open data revolution – but sloppy economists must keep up July 22, 2014 THE UK economy is doing well. Even so, it is not often that we are placed unequivocally at the top of a world ranking of any kind. But a team of economists led by Nicholas Gruen of Lateral Economics in Melbourne has done just that. In their recent report on the economic potential created by [...]
As MPs warn of a student loan tipping point, is the system now fundamentally broken? July 22, 2014 Liam Byrne, shadow minister for universities, science and skills, says Yes. Britain’s student finance system is as broken as the Liberal Democrats’ promise not to increase fees – which is what got us into this mess in the first place. By trebling tuition fees to £9,000 per year, the government has overloaded young people – already [...]
We’re staring into the abyss in Gaza: Only the US can halt this deadly cycle July 21, 2014 “If you want to make peace, you don’t talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.” Moshe Dayan, Israeli politician and military leader IN GAZA, the inexorable logic of destruction continues apace. Since the Israeli ground incursion into the Hamas-dominated enclave began on Thursday, the death toll has risen tragically. Sunday was the worst [...]
Forget the licence fee: Why Game of Thrones damns the case for a universal BBC July 21, 2014 Ahead of the 2016 Charter Review, the BBC is bunkering down to defend its funding through the licence fee. Last week alone saw director-general Tony Hall and head of policy James Heath robustly justify the continuation of the £145.50 annual charge for all those households who watch any type of live TV. It would be [...]
Too big to succeed? How Tesco’s new leader can take on the toxic retailer July 21, 2014 The last-minute cancellation of his “40 years at Tesco” party suggests that Philip Clarke’s departure came as a big surprise. But in truth, his future at Tesco had been looking increasingly bleak for months. The man himself conceded as much in March, with his surprise statement at a conference that his days as chief executive [...]
Are tougher sanctions the best way to tackle Putin’s Russia? July 21, 2014 Timothy Ash, head of emerging market research (ex Africa) at Standard Bank, says Yes. Sanctions have already had an effect, by preventing a broader Russian incursion into Ukraine. Russia did not expect them, and the measures made it bide time to assess their impact. Crucially, this gave the new Ukrainian government time to regroup, and [...]
There will be more Putins – and more Flight MH17s – if Europe fails to act now July 21, 2014 “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain” – The Wizard in L Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz In her able, forthright way, Hillary Clinton has just painfully called Europe’s bluff. Speaking just after the horrific details of the Malaysian plane disaster became clear – where it looks increasingly likely that murderously clueless [...]