We should applaud the corporate contrarians who reveal misconduct November 19, 2013 THE PUBLIC has lost faith in key parts of the business sector. It has endured the mis-selling of payment protection insurance, the rigging of Libor, insider trading, and an ongoing probe into the forex markets. Something has gone badly wrong. But why do so few in business have the courage to speak out about wrongdoing [...]
Letters to the Editor – 20/11 – Stamp duty, India rising, Best of Twitter November 19, 2013 Stamp duty [Re: Calls grow for tax cut policies, Monday] The call from the Free Enterprise Group to scrap stamp duty on homes worth less than £500,000 highlights the growing frustration with Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT). Previously, it was simply an admin charge; now, it is a revenue-generating tax. This changed emphasis has a [...]
ACCA Comment: We should celebrate big businesses November 19, 2013 Large firms are bad at explaining their role in Britain’s economy BIG BUSINESS bashing is all the rage, whether over tax, rising energy costs, or bonuses. But as some point out, we need these businesses for our economy to make a full recovery, even if large companies need to change their ways and do more [...]
Don’t write off India: 2014 vote holds promise for the untapped Asian giant November 18, 2013 I AM just back from my latest trip to the sub-continent, having spent a week talking to the Indian political elite about their coming election for the Lok Sabha, India’s parliament, which is likely to be held in May 2014. While the Chinese Communist Party’s just-concluded plenum has rightfully overshadowed all else in Asian politics, [...]
Tories are spreading the ashes of party modernisation – and it’s a good thing November 18, 2013 AS I watched Sky News over breakfast yesterday, the discussion turned to a new venture from Prince Charles, dubbed a charity to help charities. As the discussants outlined the idea’s potential merits, presenter Eamonn Holmes wryly asked: “What was that similar thing David Cameron was pushing before the last election? The Big Society or something?” [...]
Don’t let politics delay extra airport capacity as it held back Crossrail November 18, 2013 DEEP underneath the docks at Canary Wharf, the largest construction project in Europe is underway – the new Crossrail line. With a spectacular station, when this new railway opens in 2019, it will whisk passengers to Heathrow in just 39 minutes. Canary Wharf Group was one of the driving forces behind getting the Crossrail project [...]
Letters to the Editor – 19/11 – UK entrepreneurs, Best of Twitter November 18, 2013 UK entrepreneurs [Re: Entrepreneurs now have their own pressure group – at last, yesterday] Our recent G20 Entrepreneurship Barometer found that, while the UK is one of the top five countries to be an entrepreneur (with a competitive tax system and business-friendly regulation), we still have close to the lowest score for “co-ordinated support”. The 130 finalists of [...]
A nominal GDP target could help the UK economy cope with the East’s rise November 17, 2013 THE UK economy is now accelerating strongly and, if the traditional correlations with business surveys continue to hold, growth could be 3 per cent or more next year. Furthermore, if unemployment continues to decline as fast as the claimant count has fallen in the past four months, the 7 per cent unemployment threshold set out [...]
City Matters: Business needs bold action from the chancellor to safeguard UK prosperity November 17, 2013 IN TWO weeks’ time, the chancellor will deliver his Autumn Statement, following the first few months of consistently good economic news for several years. The strong positive signs across several areas of the economy make it safe to say that the “recovery has finally taken hold”, as Bank of England governor Mark Carney noted last [...]
Why we can still save the zombie firms hindering the UK economic revival November 17, 2013 AFTER the worst recession in living memory, the UK’s recovery feels decidedly sluggish. While the US and German economies are larger than ever, the UK is still well below its pre-recession peak. Yet insolvencies are at a historic low and many businesses seem to be (just about) surviving. Why is this? According to R3, the [...]