Why the City should vote Lib Dem in the EU elections May 20, 2014 LEAVING the EU is the surest way to pull the rug out from under the City’s feet. The Square Mile is Europe’s financial centre, with twice as many euro foreign exchange deals done in London than in any other country in the Eurozone. Holding our position at the heart of Europe is essential if we [...]
Why the City should vote Ukip in the EU elections May 20, 2014 TOMORROW you will be able to vote in a once in a generation election that really will have a lasting impact on the destiny of this great nation. You will either choose not to vote; vote for a party that wants to remain in the European Union; or vote Ukip – a party that believes [...]
Carney’s football talk masks a transparency issue: Income targeting could solve it May 20, 2014 SINCE joining the Bank of England last July, Mark Carney has been keen to talk a good game on central bank transparency. He has even made a few fledgling steps in the right direction. Many of the interviews the governor gives are with regional media operations. A cynic might suggest that he prefers the softer [...]
The global recovery is gathering pace – but Eurozone doubts remain May 20, 2014 WORRIES are growing about some Eurozone countries slipping back into double dip recession. By convention, a recession is when national output (GDP) has fallen for two successive quarters. But this is far from being news. In a substantial number of economies, output is lower than it was not just two quarters ago, but three whole [...]
Letters to the Editor – 20/05 – Google judgement, Best of Twitter May 19, 2014 Google judgement [Re: Is the “right to be forgotten” online a real danger to freedom in Europe? yesterday] The Google “right to be forgotten” judgement is about the protection of personal data on the internet, not the freedom of expression. Google cannot say that its processes are carried out “solely for journalistic purposes”. But journalists [...]
The Flash Boys delusion: Why high frequency trading critics are wrong May 19, 2014 THE PUBLICATION of Michael Lewis’s book Flash Boys has understandably turned the spotlight onto high frequency trading (HFT). A cacophony of voices repeating catchy sound bites about markets being “rigged” against average investors have forced the Twitter decibel level to “11”. If the noise translates into book sales and the rumoured movie deal comes to [...]
Miliband’s proposals would fundamentally change our wage-setting framework May 19, 2014 THE LABOUR party used to be “intensely relaxed” about people getting rich. Now it is “intensely relaxed” about the ability of governments, rather than markets, to set prices and wages without detrimental consequences. Following energy price freezes and rent controls, Ed Miliband has now set his sights on a beefed up National Minimum Wage (NMW). [...]
Why regulators need more than raw data to spot emerging crises May 19, 2014 REGULATORS did not have the right data, tools or skills to see the 2008 financial crisis coming. As a result, they are now requiring that banks provide exponentially more – and different – records, creating opportunities for real-time, sophisticated analysis around anomalies. But there is a real danger that the massive inflow of information becomes [...]
Why India’s political earthquake is the most significant turning point of 2014 May 18, 2014 GENOA – I find myself in this predictably beautiful Italian city, about to visit the house of Christopher Columbus. Like most American schoolchildren, I remember finding the fact that Columbus discovered the new world by mistake uproariously funny, as the “Admiral of the Ocean Sea” literally bumped into the Americas, sitting annoyingly in the way [...]
How powerhouse London beat New York to become the best city in the world May 18, 2014 LONDON has, for the first time, claimed the top spot as a centre for business, finance and culture in Cities of Opportunity – PwC’s sixth annual index of 30 major cities internationally. The capital has edged ahead of New York since last year, with Singapore coming in third. The index covers an impressively wide range [...]