Letters to the Editor – 15/05 – Politicising M&A, Best of Twitter May 14, 2014 Politicising M&A [Re: Britain’s apparently open economy can’t afford this Pfizer political inquisition, yesterday] Government interference in the market always leads to disaster. The shareholders and their board of directors created Pfizer and Astrazeneca, and only they should decide their future. House of Commons committees are merely a device for airing political prejudice or personal [...]
ACCA Comment: Why post-crisis regulation has proved far from perfect May 14, 2014 Blunt tools must be replaced with more responsive solutions THERE is celebration in the air now that the UK has come out of recession strongly. However, is it too soon to get out the bunting? Yes, lessons have been learned from the financial crisis, and we are looking healthier as an economy. But there could [...]
Capitalists shouldn’t be frightened of Piketty’s growth-retarding manifesto May 14, 2014 WHEN a book called Capital in the Twenty-First Century, written by a French economist, hits the top of the best-seller list, you have to ask why. It’s not exactly familiar territory, after all. The answer lies in a clash of worldviews. The conflict is between those, like the book’s author Thomas Piketty, who want to [...]
Why politicians shouldn’t be trying to squeeze guarantees from Pfizer May 14, 2014 THE LONGER Pfizer’s attempt to take over Astrazeneca remains in the political spotlight, the more intense and worrying the pressure on the government is becoming to extract guarantees about what the combined company would and wouldn’t do in Britain. Attention has focused particularly on the R&D cuts that Pfizer has confirmed will happen if it [...]
The real world looks much less rosy than the Bank of England’s forecasts May 14, 2014 YESTERDAY’S Inflation Report presented a benign view of UK economic prospects. Economic growth is expected to continue at around 3 per cent or above, double the rate over the recovery so far. Yet sufficient spare capacity remains to prevent a rise in inflation. So interest rates can rise gradually and that can wait until next [...]
Letters to the Editor – 14/05 – Power to town halls, Political risk, Best of Twitter May 13, 2014 Power to town halls [Re: Radically decentralising power to town halls may pay UK growth dividend, Monday] While I broadly agree with the premise of Philip Booth’s piece, it is plainly wrong to suggest that coalition ministers aren’t interested in fiscal devolution. In the face of strong opposition from Treasury officials, we managed to get [...]
Sterling strength won’t last: Markets will soon notice UK economic weaknesses May 13, 2014 STERLING has had a good run against the dollar, but it can’t last much longer. The pound has risen to five-year highs on growing expectations of an early UK rate rise and more dovish comments from the Federal Reserve. But events on both sides of the Atlantic could upset the consensus. For a start, the [...]
How the global economy became more equal – thanks to capitalism May 13, 2014 METROPOLITAN liberals love to be able to criticise Western society. Recently, their lives have been brightened by the extensive discussion on the rise in inequality since the 1970s, especially in the Anglo-Saxon economies. There is a danger that this essentially anti-capitalist narrative will come to dominate the media, paving the way for increased regulation and [...]
Britain’s supposedly open economy can’t afford this Pfizer political inquisition May 13, 2014 THERE was something quite uncomfortable about watching MPs do their best to trip up the boss of a major multinational that has expressed an interest in investing in the UK economy. At yesterday’s Business Committee hearing into his firm’s proposed bid for Astrazeneca, Pfizer chief executive Ian Read was treated no differently to Rupert Murdoch during [...]
Letters to the Editor – 13/05 – Tech bubble, Asian powderkeg, Best of Twitter May 12, 2014 Tech bubble [Re: This irrational tech boom risks the health of the global economy, Friday] I agree with Guy Hands’s analysis of tech stock valuations. And I support the idea that the tech bubble is being fuelled by cheap money – although the same is also true of the S&P and the FTSE, by and [...]