City Matters: Social impact investing: The City must embrace a future of philanthropy January 26, 2014 THE CITY has always been a crucible for debate, innovation and philanthropy. All three are crucial as we strive to rise to the complex challenges posed by the “new normal” – a fast-developing globalised world where resources are increasingly scarce and in demand. I am particularly keen to draw upon the City’s energy, expertise and [...]
Letters to the Editor – 27/01 – Carney’s low rates, Bonus cap, Best of Twitter January 26, 2014 Carney’s low rates [Re: Mark Carney has been the luckiest of unlucky Bank governors, Friday] The author puts his finger right on the key point when he highlights the issue of mounting imbalances due to low rates. But by the time the pressures become serious and can no longer be ignored, we will have to [...]
No Facebook, you haven’t just debunked Princeton January 24, 2014 A recent Princeton study estimated that 80 per cent of Facebook's users will leave the site by 2017, and as the research went viral, the social network just had to respond. It's a shame, because while Facebook data scientist Mike Develin makes good points about the follies of extrapolation generally, he manages to miss the [...]
Crime’s downward path: A promising trend with no room for complacency January 23, 2014 IT’S BEEN called the riddle of peacefulness. Many think crime is a growing problem: a 2013 Ipsos Mori study found that 58 per cent didn’t believe it was falling, while 51 per cent thought violent crime was getting worse. Yet Britain, in common with much of the developed world, has enjoyed nearly 20 years of [...]
The Long View: The real way to shake up British banking: Embrace the third party future January 23, 2014 THE LACK of competition among Britain’s retail banks is under the microscope. Yet an important part of the solution is not getting enough attention. While breaking up big banks would not be as easy as Ed Miliband thinks, and the current height of the regulatory hurdles makes the field of entrants sparse at best, the [...]
Britain’s pensions crisis is worse than you think: We must save even more January 23, 2014 WHAT does a decent pension cost? The short answer is a lot; and a lot more than most people think or want to know. The government plans to prevent a pensions crisis with two main policies: first, a state pension payable from the age of 67 or 68 of about £7,000 a year; secondly, it [...]
Letters to the Editor – 24/01 – EU green targets, Compulsory saving, Best of Twitter January 23, 2014 EU green targets [Re: Industry welcomes EU green targets for 2030, yesterday] It is incorrect to suggest that all businesses welcome the new targets. While it is promising to see the EU placing climate change and competitiveness side by side, it’s clear that others in Europe have little appetite to match the UK’s binding 50 [...]
Why it will take real bank reform to rid us of our addiction to candy floss credit January 22, 2014 GROWTH is back. Unemployment is falling. Each week seems to bring a flurry of upgraded forecasts. The mood of the pundits has gone from gloom to boom. But headline growth figures do not tell the full story. They only tell us about headline growth. Any government can raise output – and all other kinds of [...]
The Bank must at least discuss a rate rise: Its credibility is now on the line January 22, 2014 THE BANK of England must give serious consideration to raising interest rates. This doesn’t mean it should hike rates immediately. But the conditions under which rates would rise need to be clarified urgently. Forward guidance is being used to avoid this conversation. Ideally, guidance should be employed to reduce the discretion of policymakers over monetary [...]
A crisis of confidence is curbing SME lending and harming recovery January 22, 2014 CONFIDENCE can be the difference between success and failure. For some time, there has been a large number of businesses that are too pessimistic about their chances of getting the finance they need from their bank to grow. I can understand this mindset. These are people battling to keep on top of everything you have [...]