Why central banks are hurting their credibility with forward guidance September 5, 2013 THE ECONOMIST Michael Woodford created quite a stir at the annual monetary conference at Jackson Hole in the US just over a year ago. The basic thrust of his argument was that central banks had deployed all sorts of conventional and unconventional monetary policies since the credit crunch, and even central bankers had begun to [...]
Letters to the editor – 06/09 – Defending Wonga, Green Deal, Best of Twitter September 5, 2013 Defending Wonga [Re: Wonga defends reputation as profits rocket, yesterday] Payday lenders mean different things to different people. For many on low incomes, they provide a cash bridge until pay day. For others, they are viewed as taking advantage of people in financial need. Those in the latter group are unlikely to have a need [...]
Syria crisis highlights a new model for how the Special Relationship can work September 4, 2013 I REMEMBER the exact moment I knew I was a dinosaur. I was included in high-level meetings, aimed at assembling a coalition to buttress George W. Bush’s effort to remove Saddam Hussein. When the topic of whether the British would come along arose, everyone laughed, regardless of party or foreign policy orientation. Confused, I asked [...]
Artificial Intelligence will destroy jobs – but technological pessimism is wrong September 4, 2013 DEVELOPMENTS in Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be among the most exciting advances of this century. No longer the preserve of science fiction, from driving our cars to managing our health, the products of AI research are already quietly revolutionising our world. But warning bells are ringing. John Maynard Keynes coined the term “technological unemployment” to [...]
Why messing with pay is not the best way to end living cost squeeze September 4, 2013 UNEMPLOYMENT and underemployment in the UK are still far too high. But given the circumstances, the UK’s labour market is in a far better shape than we might have expected. In much of Europe, five years of stagnation have sent jobless figures through the roof. Yet the UK got away with a black eye. A [...]
Letters to the editor – 05/09 – Merkel and the EU, Sporting success, Best of Twitter September 4, 2013 Merkel and the EU [Re: Merkel must find a bold new vision or Europe will continue towards disaster, yesterday] Lars Christensen is right to argue that the German Chancellor must set out a vision for the future of Europe. Unfortunately, such a vision looks unlikely to materialise. The philosopher Jurgen Harbemas last week published an [...]
Merkel must find a bold new vision or Europe will continue towards disaster September 3, 2013 FEW politicians are now prepared to stand up for their beliefs – if indeed they have any. Ideologies and courage have been consigned to the past. But with German elections fast approaching, which Angela Merkel will surely win, the German Chancellor must voice a new, realistic vision for the EU. It is needed more than [...]
Against the Grain: It’s official: Why the statistics show even England could win the World Cup September 3, 2013 AUTUMN is fast approaching, and the focus of the nation’s sporting interest is switching. No sooner have our boys humiliated the Australians at cricket than a new challenge emerges in the shape of two important qualifying games for the football World Cup. The comedian Bob Doolally articulated the views of many when he said: “If [...]
Vodafone isn’t avoiding UK tax on the sale of its stake in Verizon Wireless September 3, 2013 THE screams of rage, as the statists realise they’re not going to get any money from the sale of Vodafone’s stake in Verizon Wireless, have become deafening. We’ve even seen UKUncut insist quite seriously that £84bn of tax is being avoided (£84bn is the total transaction size, not the profit or the tax). But the [...]
Letters to the editor – 04/09 – Walke Scorchie, Best of Twitter September 3, 2013 Walkie Scorchie [Re: Walkie Talkie has few design solutions as beam warms shops to 70 degrees Celsius, yesterday] Someone has built a giant parabolic mirror and, unsurprisingly, it’s melting cars and burning bars. Archimedes reputedly used the same technique to set fire to an enemy fleet. The remedy is obvious: refit the window panes to [...]