Tory policy is becoming a mess of contradictions February 24, 2014 AS RECOVERY becomes entrenched, it is easy to forget the sense of urgency of those heady days in May 2010, when the Tory-Lib Dem coalition agreement was thrashed out. The backdrop of the Greek implosion brought broad consensus on the need for a credible medium-term plan to repair the public finances. The Conservatives who, right [...]
Why the housing crisis is clobbering London businesses February 24, 2014 THE HOUSING crisis is the biggest challenge facing London. For the first time ever, it is now Londoners’ top concern. For low and middle income Londoners, home ownership is increasingly out of reach, rents consume an ever increasing percentage of their income, and homelessness is rising. But the crisis is also seriously damaging the competitiveness [...]
The West has killed its entrepreneurs and replaced them with bureaucrats February 23, 2014 IF WESTERN economies have lost considerable ground to emerging powers over the last two decades, it is not simply because we lack the cheap labour of China and India or the natural resources of Russia and Brazil. It is because we have killed our own entrepreneurs at a time when our competitors made business creators [...]
City Matters: The growth of Islamic finance is critical to sustaining the City’s export weight February 23, 2014 GEORGE Osborne signalled last week that he plans to encourage more trade and investment in next month’s Budget announcement. The chancellor rightly pointed out that this was critical to securing a sustainable recovery across the UK. The City plays a crucial role in underpinning the wider economy through job creation, investment, trade and exports. That [...]
Europe’s liquidity tax will sacrifice innovation for a false promise of stability February 23, 2014 THINGS are finally looking up for Europe’s beleaguered economies. So it is incomprehensible that we are still taking the idea of implementing a European Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) seriously. Last week, the French and German governments pledged to continue pushing for a FTT, while Greece hosted a meeting of the 11 states working on the [...]
Letters to the Editor – 24/02 – Planning laws, Political banking, Best of Twitter February 23, 2014 Planning laws [Re: The only solution to the housing crisis: build, build and build, Friday] Well said. The iron grip on planning laws held by councils throughout the UK simply stops the housing market from functioning properly. Just a quick look through the government’s online “planning portal” reveals the complexity that builders must deal with. [...]
City&Gild: Customers have changed – are you ready to move from need to desire? February 21, 2014 As I watched the tragic plight of the Ukrainian people this week, the arrival of an email entitled “Need state Identification project” made me question further the way that we think about brands and customers. With struggling nations across the globe all battling for their voices to be heard, the contrast between such real and desperate [...]
Bottom Line: Investors are right to shrug off price tag February 20, 2014 FACEBOOK’S $19bn (£11.4bn) payment for instant messaging service Whatsapp knocked many market watchers sideways. Those numbers see the start-up of just 55 employees valued at more than American Airlines or Ralph Lauren. But Zuckerberg isn’t here for Whatsapp’s profitability – it charges users 99 cents just once a year – he wants its market share. [...]
How free markets are making solar energy feasible without subsidies February 20, 2014 IT MAY be a clean form of energy, but solar has become a dirty word in some circles. Given expensive subsidies and feed-in-tariffs, solar (like other renewables) has looked like yet another uncompetitive distraction. It’s little surprise that countries like Germany, which have made the greatest commitments to renewables, also have the highest domestic energy [...]
The Long View: The Lego revival: What the brickmaker can teach us about creative freedom February 20, 2014 THE LEGO renaissance is one of the great business stories of our time. A decade ago the Danish firm was on the brink of bankruptcy. It is all different now. Last autumn it overtook Hasbro to become the second-biggest toymaker in the world. This month’s box-office triumph for The Lego Movie, $50m (£30m) over the [...]