Nick Clegg is wrong: English schools should have more freedom not less October 24, 2013 IN WHAT seemed like a surprise U-turn, deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has departed from previous coalition education policy, arguing that academies must hire officially-qualified teachers and follow the national curriculum. This shift isn’t too surprising, however. Clegg is repeating what was decided at the Liberal Democrats’ spring conference. But while this makes his announcement [...]
The Long View: The new totalitarianism of hard work leaves us little time to enjoy its benefits October 24, 2013 THERE’S something repellent about the Conservative Party’s new slogan “For Hardworking People”. I can’t agree with those critics who think it is an empty promise. It reflects the values in which David Cameron believes. It suits the social incentives he is seeking to construct. But while encouraging people to work for their own betterment is [...]
The rise of Islamic finance has exciting implications beyond the Muslim world October 24, 2013 THE FINANCIAL crisis has made many question whether Western financial models can withstand future onslaughts, whether they are even fit for purpose. But Islamic finance (one of the fastest growing financial sectors) withstood the crisis comparatively well. A 2010 IMF study found that, on average, Islamic banks showed greater resilience than their conventional counterparts. So [...]
Letters to the Editor – 25/10 – Deferred costs, Best of Twitter October 24, 2013 Deferred costs [Re: The global economy sinks under its debts as the real cost of energy rises, yesterday] Tim Morgan’s article strikes at the real issue facing the global economy and all of us. Perpetual growth is almost certainly over. The debt problem of the credit crisis has not gone away, it has simply been transferred [...]
The global economy sinks under its debts as the real cost of energy rises October 23, 2013 ALTHOUGH the economy is improving, this is turning out to be “a recovery, but not as we know it”. Britain may be getting better off, but people keep getting poorer, as the costs of essentials continue to grow much more rapidly than incomes. Yet far from being a uniquely British problem, this is a worldwide [...]
The UK economic growth surge exposes the real evidence on bank lending October 23, 2013 WHEN Charlie Bean, deputy governor at the Bank of England, gave his speech this week on the UK’s economic outlook, he admitted that the Old Lady was surprised with what was happening. The Bank’s analysis showed that the “recent run of UK data has been unusually strong relative to market expectations”. There are “at last [...]
We’re entering an era of real-time business with startups setting the pace October 23, 2013 REAL-TIME reaction is the new currency in business and – for the most part – entrepreneurs and lean start-ups are making mincemeat out of big corporates. “Business has sped up in the past ten years,” says Rupert Lee-Browne, founder of broker Caxton FX, which has evolved from order-taking by fax to instant responsiveness in its [...]
Letters to the Editor – 24/10 – Energy prices, Best of Twitter October 23, 2013 Energy prices [Re: EDF nuclear subsidy is a naive gamble on the future price of carbon and gas, yesterday] Government support for nuclear is not a gamble on gas prices rising, it is a hedge against them doing so. Even at today’s power price, the impact on bills of new nuclear (indeed renewables) is a few [...]
EDF nuclear subsidy is a naive gamble on the future price of carbon and gas October 22, 2013 RARELY have we seen a policy shrouded in so many what-ifs. The much-anticipated announcement that new French-designed atomic reactors are to finally go ahead at Hinkley Point in Somerset has been greeted with a mixture of elation and caution. The caution is well-founded, and Parliament’s scrutineers need to get ready. We still know very little [...]
Against the Grain: Why expensive renewable energy policies are failing to save the planet October 22, 2013 ENERGY price rises are again causing public anguish. The recent actions of some energy companies can be plausibly described as provocative, no matter how well-founded their decisions might be. They risk provoking the ire of the opposition, the government, and even former Prime Ministers like Sir John Major (who has just called for a windfall [...]