RAPID RESPONSES April 4, 2012 Tough love [Re: Let’s stop wasting our aid budget on funding lobbyists, yesterday] Raheem Kassam is right to expect maximum value for money from Britain’s aid budget and that is why tackling the cancer of fraud and corruption is a top priority for the coalition. Our message is clear: those who undermine progress in the [...]
How to end the euro : One Wolfson prize finalist reveals his proposal April 3, 2012 THE route for euro exit that I recommend requires the prior formation of a secret (and deniable) task force by either Germany alone, or (possibly) with France as a junior partner. This task force should develop a plan in which the first euro exit is the only one – with the complete abandonment of the [...]
We need a more radical answer to London’s crime-fighting nightmare April 3, 2012 BORIS Johnson wants to give the residents of London’s boroughs more say in how their neighbourhoods are policed. Boards of residents will suggest improvements to local police, monitor complaints from victims and oversee community payback schemes. If only Johnson did not share his party’s general aversion to the price mechanism, this could be the basis [...]
Let’s stop wasting our aid budget on funding lobbyists April 3, 2012 OVER the past few months I’ve come to realise that Ronald Reagan was wrong. The most terrifying words are not: “I’m from the government and I’m here to help”. Let me explain. Last month, I reported on a scandal in Tanzania where it was alleged that money belonging to European taxpayers was being embezzled, or [...]
Is the FSA acting fairly in its attempts to crack down on financial market abuses? April 3, 2012 YES Greg Brandman I believe the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has acted fairly under what have been difficult market conditions. Several of its key decisions this year, including its decision to fine David Einhorn and his firm Greenlight Capital, have established a clear marker to the industry about the FSA’s expectations of market practitioners. FSA [...]
RAPID RESPONSES April 3, 2012 Boomers bite back [Re: Pensioners are winning out in Britain’s battle of the generations, yesterday] Baby-boomers are not stealing their kids inheritance. People starting work then earned far less than their modern equivalents. Property may be comparatively more expensive nowadays, but cars and consumer goods in general are far cheaper. Ian Mair My wife and [...]
Pensioners are still winning out in Britain’s battle of the generations April 2, 2012 WHEN in 1965 The Who sang “Hope I die before I get old,” it articulated the sentiment of a generation. However, the boomers – those born in the immediate aftermath of World War II – did not die: They lived long and lived well, enjoying historically unprecedented increases in living standards. David Willetts, the current [...]
Petrol shortages show that, for once, fuel prices were too low last week April 2, 2012 LAST weekend, before my pregnant wife drove to Devon with our young daughter, I wanted to fill up the car with petrol. Unfortunately, the filling stations near to our house either had lengthy queues spilling onto the road or had run out completely. I also know a local taxi driver who was unable to fill [...]
The EC is now run by City-sceptics: An insider’s view April 2, 2012 THE European Parliament can be a frustrating place to work. When I and some of my fellow MEPs met Commission officials last week to discuss the technical details they had drafted as required by the alternative investment fund managers directive (AIFMD), it was clear the Commission had not taken on board the concerns that I [...]
Are the government’s internet monitoring proposals justified on grounds of security? April 2, 2012 YES Anthony Glees We have secret agencies to help protect us from serious organised crime, sexual exploitation and Islamist and neo-Nazi terrorism. Today, these people use the internet and mobile phones to plan and organise. These proposals will allow us to monitor them. If our security services are to deal with them effectively and keep [...]