Technology alone can’t save businesses from the threat of cyber criminals January 9, 2013 BRITAIN’s national security is in peril. According to a report released yesterday by the House of Commons Defence Select Committee, the threat to British IT systems from cyber attack is both rapidly evolving and increasingly significant. And it’s hard not to be convinced of the potential for disaster. In 2010, a highly-sophisticated computer worm known [...]
Bank regulators finally realise their decisions can help or hinder the economy January 9, 2013 WHAT was that bang? A lot of people are hearing the sound of stable doors being slammed shut after the horses have bolted. Professor John Kay – a trenchant critic of banks – wrote about it yesterday, saying that, after the financial crisis, it was natural for politicians to rush to solve yesterday’s problems. One [...]
The business case for a referendum on EU membership January 9, 2013 IN ALL likelihood, David Cameron will soon commit to holding an in-out referendum on Britain’s EU membership. Unsurprisingly, this has provoked a campaign against giving people a say on who ultimately governs us. There are two arguments. First, that “now is not the right time”, because speculation about the possibility of a referendum would create [...]
As the Tube reaches its 150th birthday, should London love or hate its underground railway? January 9, 2013 LOVE Wendy Neville We should be proud of London’s Underground for three reasons: longevity, design heritage and innovation. It’s amazing to think that a transport service largely dependent on infrastructure over 100 years old runs so smoothly and efficiently to carry over 3m passengers a day. There are occasional delays, but the service is good [...]
Rapid responses January 9, 2013 Commuting reality [Re: Further efficiencies are critical to making London’s railways thrive, yesterday] The current proposals for rail improvements are distinctly short sighted. Britain’s railways were built in Victorian times to take travellers from one city centre to another. But this no longer reflects the travel pattern of today’s rail users. The figures reveal a [...]
Further efficiencies are critical to making London’s railways thrive January 8, 2013 COMMUTERS finally have some welcome news. Just a week after inflation-busting fare increases came into effect, rail industry leaders have announced Britain’s biggest investment in infrastructure since the Victorian era. Look around any train or station serving London in the morning peak and the case for improvements is overwhelming. Many are packed or overcrowded. Londoners [...]
The simplest ideas can offer the deepest insights into how markets work January 8, 2013 TRAGEDY struck at a mid-week game played during the holiday season in Football League Division Two. The pies ran out in the home supporters’ bar. The incident may seem trivial to those not involved, but it illustrates some important themes in economics, which have even gained their inventors the Nobel Prize. It turns out that [...]
Were MPs right to cap the benefits rise at 1 per cent? January 8, 2013 Yes Ryan Bourne THE government is struggling to control borrowing and this is partly due to a 5.9 per cent increase in net social security payments this financial year compared with last. Many benefits were uprated by 5.2 per cent for 2012-13 because of high consumer price index inflation in the previous year, when average [...]
Rapid responses January 8, 2013 Planning inflation [Re: Daft planning rules are pushing up the price of food in shops, yesterday] While it is always good for an article about planning policy to focus on commercial property rather than housing, and while the academics cited may have delivered interesting papers, let’s not use this work to justify more fiddling with [...]
Coalition tinkering on family tax and pensions is too little too late January 7, 2013 THE foreword to the coalition’s mid-term review could have been written in the early 1970s. Perhaps this is not surprising. Policymaking tends to lack a sharp edge in coalition. Compromises must be made, and this can lead to bad decisions. Changes to student fees are a prime example. Most students will pay a lot more [...]