City Matters: The City and Scotland are natural allies in protecting our global competitiveness February 9, 2014 SCOTLAND’S future relationship with the rest of the UK has once again been making headlines, as we edge closer to the September independence referendum. For Londoners, the “Scottish question” can seem far removed. But having visited Edinburgh and Aberdeen last week, it is clear to me that this relationship is crucial to firms on both [...]
London needs Crossrail Two but the Treasury doesn’t have to fund it February 9, 2014 IT MIGHT seem absurd to be talking about Crossrail 2 when Crossrail 1 has only just hit the halfway mark. But the uncomfortable truth – and I mean this literally for London’s rail users – is that, as soon as it opens, Crossrail 1 will be full to bursting. We are playing a desperate game [...]
Letters to the Editor – 10/02 – No more strikes, Falling giant, Best of Twitter February 9, 2014 No more strikes [Re: Politicians must end tube chaos, Friday] There is another way. In an era when huge ships plough the ocean, and vast aircraft fly the skies under the control of automated systems, just how difficult would it be to automate trains running along fixed tracks? Already US firms are trialling automated cars, [...]
City & Gild: We clamour for the individual touch at any price – and brands can answer the call February 7, 2014 Rich or poor, there’s one thing that everyone is striving for – individualism. While one woman’s individuality comes via a limited edition un-badged Hermes bag, another person’s comes from a Coke bottle with their name on it. The former unassuming but showy (or “knowy”) and bespoke, the latter showy and, well, also bespoke. Each answers [...]
Deflation can be good or bad but the Eurozone isn’t facing the bad sort yet February 6, 2014 AT THE European Central Bank (ECB) press conference yesterday, Mario Draghi was asked whether the Eurozone is tipping into deflation and whether the ECB has the tools needed to respond if it does. “Deflation” has become a bogeyman, the thing economists normally agree to fear most. But is that right? That deflation might be a [...]
The Long View: Bill Gates is gone and the dot-com era is over: It’s only the end of the beginning February 6, 2014 AS FACEBOOK turns ten, and with Bill Gates stepping down as Microsoft chairman, it feels like something is drawing to an end. But if so, it is only the end of the technological revolution’s beginning. It is extraordinary to look back now and think how visionary both Gates and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg were: Gates saw [...]
The ECB’s toolkit looks worryingly limited for tackling euro malaise February 6, 2014 THE CLAMOUR for further monetary easing from the European Central Bank (ECB) has become almost deafening. Despite this, the ECB yesterday decided to hold its interest rate at 0.25 per cent. As one journalist at ECB president Mario Draghi’s press conference griped, “Why won’t you simply cut rates!?” There are two fundamental reasons why the [...]
Letters to the Editor – 07/02 – Spillover effects, Charity lobby, Best of Twitter February 6, 2014 Spillover effects [Re: Global growth has peaked for now – but no need to panic, Wednesday] We’re all talking about the spillover effects of US monetary policy on emerging markets at the moment, but consider the situation over the next five to ten years. Governments across the West will surely embrace rising prices as a [...]
Chinese monetary superpower rivals the Fed in the emerging market storm February 5, 2014 ONE OF the joys of my job is watching fashionable but off-base theories crumple in the face of real world events. The current emerging market storm has seen the obvious destruction of not one, but two cocktail party staples: the rise of the Brics/Mints and the idea of the G-Zero world. The first thought to [...]
Challenger banks face a Capital Catch 22: It’s time to level the playing field February 5, 2014 WANDER down any high street and you’ll see those well-known chain restaurants offering appetising food at a reasonable price. Then there are the one-off, often family-run eateries with their own unique menu – perhaps with a speciality that will one day become a staple of that household-name restaurant over the road. The larger chains, of [...]