Letters to the editor January 31, 2013 The Nordic model [Re: How Sweden reformed its state to lay the foundations for future growth, yesterday] All those on the left who look to Sweden as the ideal society should read this article. The common image of a socialist nation, with all-encompassing state provision, needs refining. Not only is Sweden weathering this recession better [...]
How Sweden reformed its state to lay foundations for future growth January 30, 2013 THE muted optimism of the coalition’s mid-term review has made way for the harsh reality of disappointing GDP figures. The economy’s most recent dip demonstrates the scale of the remaining challenge: public sector reform was David Cameron’s big idea, but too little has been achieved. Even the coalition’s more radical reforms, in health and education, [...]
Banks aren’t rewarding failure – but restrictions on bonuses could go too far January 30, 2013 WITH the predictability of “snowflake causes chaos” stories, we are entering the annual banker bonus furore season. With the economy in doldrums, and the industry in the doghouse, it is easy to understand the concern. Top bankers have themselves said that pay has been “grotesque.” But just as predictable as the outrage is a lack [...]
Six books to spur Britain’s start-up revolution onward January 30, 2013 THE number of UK start-ups hasn’t deviated much in years, with business birth rates hovering between 10 and 13 per cent of overall enterprise numbers. So recent figures from StartUp Britain, showing a 10 per cent spike of 484,224 new firms in 2012, are a welcome anomaly. For many first-time entrepreneurs, the idea of starting [...]
The Debate: After reaching its highest point since 2008, can the FTSE 100 continue its recent rally? January 30, 2013 YES Tom Stevenson As the FTSE 100 share index moves safely back into pre-financial crisis territory, the question is whether its recent performance can continue for the rest of 2013. We analysed the performance of the index since its inception in 1984, and found that it has risen in the first month of the year [...]
Letters to the editor January 30, 2013 Heathrow vs HS2 [Re: HS2 cost-benefit is a worrying mix of naive projections, Tuesday] The comparison we should make is between HS2 and a third runway at Heathrow. The former requires a fortune of borrowed taxpayers’ money, will find it difficult to recover the cost of capital, and is a massive transfer from the bulk [...]
Fewer fiddly rules will help make childcare more affordable for all January 29, 2013 HOW much would it cost the government to raise spending on childcare subsidies to the average level in Scandinavia? Your guess is probably wrong. As a proportion of GDP, the UK government spends more on childcare subsidies than Finland, Norway and Iceland, and about as much as Sweden. The only country ahead of us on [...]
Government didn’t rescue the US from Depression – it was corporate cash January 29, 2013 IS AMERICA heading for a boom? Real GDP has risen for 13 successive quarters and now stands 3 per cent above its peak level. A net total of 4.8m jobs has been created over the past three years, with a fall of 500,000 in the public sector massively outweighed by a 5.3m rise in the [...]
Political risk could still derail a better Eurozone outlook January 29, 2013 THIS year could be a watershed for the Eurozone. There is now a real chance the region can overcome the market volatility and fragmentation of the past few years, and that countries like Greece could actively return to capital markets. European leaders have laid much of the groundwork towards restoring credibility to Eurozone policy. But [...]
The Debate: Should the government introduce a tax on sugary drinks to encourage a healthy diet? January 29, 2013 YES Charlie Powell More often than not, sugary drinks offer no nutritional benefits other than “empty calories” to a nation already suffering high levels of obesity-related diseases and dental decay. So it would be good for our health and the environment if we drank less of them. A 20p per litre sugary drinks duty would [...]