RAPID RESPONSES July 23, 2012 No quick fix [Re: Coalition’s lack of courage threatens a triple-dip recession, yesterday] Until Britain makes deep cuts in government expenditure to make room for cuts to taxation, there will be no great increase in the spending power of consumers. Pumping up quantitative easing and demanding that banks lend more is a waste of time without [...]
Weak GDP figures won’t mean the economy is about to fall off a cliff July 22, 2012 A BIG health warning should be attached to the second quarter gross domestic product (GDP) figures, when they are released on Wednesday. GDP figures – the official estimates of UK growth – can be very misleading. They can be distorted by temporary one-off effects (including the weather). They are frequently revised, so the initial estimates [...]
Europeans need a Tea Party to reject crony capitalism July 22, 2012 MOST Eurozone news is almost unbearably predictable. Since 2010, politicians have endlessly talked about an “existential danger” to the euro, unless extraordinary measures are taken. We keep hearing from politicians who tell us that the only way to stave off catastrophe is to engineer another bailout – of a bank, of a nation, or of [...]
The City must aspire to the Olympian ethos of competitive sportsmanship July 22, 2012 NOW THAT the Olympic Flame is in London – having made a dramatic aerial entrance last Friday, courtesy of the Royal Marines – this is the capital’s moment to shine. The weather forecasters are doing their bit by suggesting we’ll continue to bask in glorious sunshine, and boroughs across London are putting finishing touches to [...]
Following arguments that bank regulators have failed, is self-regulation the answer? July 22, 2012 YES Peter Meinertzhagen The main problem with regulation by statutory bodies is that nothing gets done. Witness the inquiry into the fixing of Libor rates. If the governor of the Bank of England could still raise his eyebrows, as in the days of self-regulation, Barclays would have had to act or face the consequences. During [...]
RAPID responses July 22, 2012 Olympic strikes [Re: It’s not all bad: Britain is becoming safer despite recession, Friday] The good news in this article is that the criminals are at least giving us a break in our time of difficulties. On the other hand, a powerful and selfish minority of immigration and border control workers want to put us [...]
Formula One shows real experts should be driving our companies July 19, 2012 NEW research into the success of Formula One teams shows that a leader’s genuine expertise in a company’s core business really matters. Being a capable general manager alone is not sufficient. This is a hot topic – there is recent evidence that major firms have moved away from hiring chief executives with technical expertise, towards [...]
The Batman of business: Private equity has the guts to do the dirty work July 19, 2012 BATMAN and Barack Obama are conspiring to put private equity under a Bat Signal-shaped spotlight this week. The unlikely duo have come together thanks to the similarity between Bane – the name of the villain in The Dark Knight Rises (see our review on page 35) – and the Obama re-election campaign’s attack against Republican [...]
Next governor of the Bank must not be paid for failure July 19, 2012 IN 2008, an elderly lady asked a killer question about the credit crunch which left the so-called economic experts red-faced. During a briefing by academics at the London School of Economics on chaos in the international markets, the Queen asked: “Why did nobody notice it?” Another Old Lady – she of Threadneedle Street – had [...]
As figures reveal the UK increasingly exports outside the EU, should we abandon Europe? July 19, 2012 YES Ruth Lea The news that the UK exported more goods to non-EU countries than to EU countries in the three months to May, according to a report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, should come as no surprise to anyone. Of course, our current trade to the EU is being dampened by [...]