We need to break our unsecured banking system out of its Victorian past July 29, 2013 THE UNSECURED nature of the UK banking system has long troubled both me and my company, and we have discussed the situation with the Bank of England on several occassions. Concerns over bank capital positions have also recently been reignited. Barclays, which releases its half-year results today, is one of the banks identified by the [...]
Ruinous green policies mean rising profits for UK energy companies July 29, 2013 YESTERDAY the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee released a report arguing that energy regulator Ofgem should force energy companies to produce more detailed financial information. One of the members of the committee – John Robertson MP – told the BBC that he needed to be able to assess whether the profits of the energy [...]
Letters to the editor – 30/07 – Heathrow debate, Best of Twitter July 29, 2013 Heathrow debate [Re: Forget disastrous Heathrow and build a more efficient hub to London’s east, yesterday] The aviation debate shows no sign of abating. And despite all the arguments to the contrary, the cost, economic benefits, and practicality of a Heathrow extension still make serious consideration of other options borderline nonsensical. The alternatives are costly, [...]
Forget disastrous Heathrow and build a more efficient hub to London’s east July 28, 2013 AIRPORT policy is getting a lot of headlines, as different organisations (including the airports themselves) make their submissions to the Airports Commission. That attention is well-deserved, because it is a subject that is critical to our economy and its future. Much of our most valuable trade moves by air, and relationships with emerging markets are [...]
City Matters: Why the City must vocally support crucial reforms to the European Union July 28, 2013 ANOTHER week, and another chapter in the debate over the UK’s membership of the EU. The first report from the government-commissioned study into the balance of competences between London and Brussels, released last week, claimed that the status quo is broadly correct in six key policy areas. But perhaps more significantly, Japan and Australia also [...]
Why we musn’t fear the rise of emerging market state-backed champions July 28, 2013 WHAT do Airbus, Michelin, Hyundai, NEC, Samsung, Singapore Airlines, Volkswagen, and LG have in common? They all started life as national champions, companies supported by the state while their countries emerged from the ravages of war. Although advanced economies have rightly shifted away from the model, the achievements of these firms in the global marketplace [...]
Letters to the Editor – 29/07 – Church loans, China economy, Best of Twitter July 28, 2013 Church loans [Re: Church of England launches probe into link with Wonga, Friday] The Church should be applauded for the proposed venture into the payday lending market. Its decision is laudable not because there is anything evil about Wonga, nor because of the supposed moral desirability of constraining reckless capitalism. The archbishop’s intention to outcompete [...]
This isn’t the recovery we expected but we shouldn’t write it off entirely July 25, 2013 GIVEN that we are celebrating a royal birth, it seems appropriate to say “Happy birthday!” to the UK’s economic recovery, which is four years old this quarter. To celebrate, the Office for National Statistics has presented us with one of the better GDP figures we have had in recent times. The output of the UK [...]
The Long View: We greet our new prince and future King as symbol of our hard-fought liberty July 25, 2013 THE FUTURE’S Georgian. But some people seem to have confused the nation’s celebrations at the birth of His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge with slavish adulation at the feet of royal power. Such claims make for good Twitter polemics, but little historical sense. The British are, after all, blessed with both an ancient monarchy [...]
Battle of the online giants: Why Facebook continues to surprise its many critics July 25, 2013 BEFORE Facebook surprised the market with a 53 per cent rise in second quarter revenues to $1.8bn (£1.2bn), the social network had had a wretched few months. It was forced to admit it hands data to the US National Security Agency – stirring up privacy concerns. In May, Nissan and Nationwide pulled ads after they [...]