M&S’s new ad campaign will struggle to reverse slumping fashion sales August 21, 2013 YOU CAN visualise the meeting at Marks & Spencer’s headquarters when its new campaign, advertising its make-or-break Autumn collection, was finalised. An ad agency suggests the idea of female empowerment and the boardroom battleground. Any actual brand idea is forgotten, as the rolodex spins and agents are called. Actress Helen Mirren, artist Tracey Emin, author [...]
Letters to the editor – 22/08 – Global competition, HS2 debate, Best of Twitter August 21, 2013 Global competition [Re: We should be glad that foreign firms want to buy British companies, yesterday] I agree with Tim Worstall. It is essential that financiers and investors have a viable route to a profitable exit. And a foreign sale is often an important avenue. UK venture capital typically wishes to sell on in four to [...]
How Britain can take advantage of a global growth in digital industries August 20, 2013 MOST new jobs are not created by established big businesses adding a few people here and there, or by the many smaller firms that are happy to stay small rather than take a risk and expand. Our future prosperity depends on a relatively small number of rapidly growing firms: high growth “gazelles”. So if we [...]
Against the Grain: Unemployment may fall much faster than the Bank of England expects August 20, 2013 THE VIEWS expressed by the new Bank of England governor Mark Carney on interest rates and unemployment remain a hot topic. Interest rates will not be raised until unemployment falls below 7 per cent, a process the Bank expects could take three years. The perception which many people have of unemployment is that it is [...]
We should be glad that foreign firms want to buy British companies August 20, 2013 THE ABSURDLY nationalist argument over whether foreigners should be allowed to own companies in Britain is raising its ugly head again. Vacuum technology firm Edwards has just been sold to Sweden’s Atlas Copco for £1bn, last month UK engineering giant Invensys was the subject of a £3.4bn takeover by France’s Schneider Electric, and Kentz has [...]
Letters to the editor – 21/08 – Sport competition, Best of Twitter August 20, 2013 Sport competition [Re: BT Sport has a mountain to climb in its bid to beat BSkyB, yesterday] David Hellier raises some interesting points about how consumers are buying converged TV, broadband and telephony packages. However, he misses two main points: BT is not looking to topple Sky Sports, and Sky TV customers can get BT Sport [...]
The Tories can’t rely on directionless Ed Miliband to gift them 2015 victory August 19, 2013 SOME Conservative MPs are in an optimistic, even euphoric, mood. The economy is recovering as is, crucially, public confidence in the government’s stewardship of it. At the same time, Ed Miliband’s leadership of the Labour Party is characterised by drift and looks directionless. Labour grandees are turning on their leader and even seemingly loyal shadow [...]
The economy may be looking up but the public finances are far from fixed August 19, 2013 ECONOMIC indicators seem to be improving. Yes, there are concerns that the growth we are seeing is “the wrong type of growth”, fuelled in part by government attempts to re-inflate the housing market. But if businesses and consumers believe better times are ahead, the hope is that renewed confidence will foster more investment, thus facilitating [...]
Only serious reform can halt the increasing cost of childcare in Britain August 19, 2013 YESTERDAY saw the release of a report by the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) showing what many already expected. In recent years, child-related expenses have risen considerably, with the cost of childcare a major driver. Accumulated over 18 years, raising a child in a couple household now costs about £150,000. This study is a valuable [...]
Letters to the editor – HS2’s growing bill, Best of Twitter – 20/08 August 19, 2013 HS2’s growing bill [Re: HS2 rubbishes claim that costs could hit £80bn, Monday] The conclusion that the decision to proceed with High Speed 2 risks imposing significant additional costs on taxpayers is not, as HS2 Ltd claims, based on ideology. Our HS2 report provides hard evidence that the project is being shaped by interest group [...]