As Facebook’s shares drop to record lows, can the internet firm easily salvage the situation? August 19, 2012 YES Richard Nunn The true valuation of Facebook is not about short-term gains or losses, but a medium-term play about how it monetises its user base of nearly 1bn people. The five tranches of share lock-up expirations will affect its price in the short term, as it will inevitably discourage new investors from buying the [...]
Rapid responses August 19, 2012 Rental promise [Re: Boris needs to be innovative to get the private sector building houses, Friday] Yes, London needs more homes. But it specifically needs more affordable rental homes. With record rents being reported in the capital, it’s only by increasing rental housing stock, and building property specifically designed for long-term rent, that we will [...]
Boris needs to be innovative to get the private sector building houses August 16, 2012 THE Mayor of London owns 530 hectares of land and is the largest public landowner in London. He is responsible, with the London Boroughs, for addressing the needs of the 350,000 Londoners on the housing waiting list, for planning for the future housing needs for the capital, and for a budget of around £3bn to [...]
The Manchester medal factory: Be grateful for this strange cluster of genius August 16, 2012 THE Manchester velodrome is a medal factory. It won as many golds in this summer’s Olympics as the whole of Australia. As well as a cause for national celebration, that’s a problem. Because the truth is, we don’t know enough about why. Genius clusters. Renaissance Florence. Elizabethan London. The Scottish Enlightenment. Extraordinary individual achievements, sporting [...]
Football can teach businesses plenty of useful strategy August 16, 2012 ONCE again, the transfer season for the big five European leagues – in England, Germany, Spain, France and Italy – has seen top players move club for incredible sums. But the evidence shows that not all transfers benefit the buying club. And this not only raises interesting questions for football, but some that can also [...]
After A-level results came out yesterday, is a degree always the best route to success? August 16, 2012 YES Wendy Piatt In tough economic times, a good degree remains a smart investment. Most graduates earn a six-figure premium over those with two A-levels, and Russell Group graduates typically receive a 10 per cent top-up over those from other universities. Our students work with world-class experts, use first-rate facilities, are part of a highly [...]
Rapid Responses August 16, 2012 Smokers’ choice [Re: As Australia confirms a law banning branded tobacco packaging, should the UK follow suit?, yesterday] Both contributors focus on whether children are swayed by cigarette packets. But this ignores the fact that this policy is essentially the infantilisation of adults. All adults know the dangers of smoking, yet many choose to do [...]
Raise a glass to students’ success but we need to talk about A-levels August 15, 2012 IT’S A-level results day. Across the country, 18 year olds will be nervously waiting to find out their results, with thousands of university places dependent on the right grades. We shouldn’t hesitate to celebrate these young people for their months of hard work and dedication, as well as praising the teachers who have played such [...]
Romney’s vice presidential pick puts policy at the heart of the US election August 15, 2012 IN PICKING congressman Paul Ryan as his running mate for the presidency, Mitt Romney shunned “safety”. Instead, he selected a figure popular with the Republican base, but also a policy advocate with an unmatched grasp of conservative solutions to fix America’s $90 trillion (£57 trillion) of unfunded entitlements. This fact, however, will delight Democrats as [...]
The new top brass at HM’s Revenue has a taxing task August 15, 2012 THE top rank of HMRC is changing. Edward Troup has taken up his new post as tax assurance commissioner, responsible for advising Treasury ministers on shaping UK tax policy. He has considerable tax experience, both in the public and private sectors. But the job has never been more challenging. The UK faces pressure to improve [...]