It’s time for the FSA to get on top of the bankruptcy of MF Global – and right away January 11, 2012 FIVE years ago we decided to set up our firm’s brokerage accounts in the UK, as we believed we would be fully protected here. After all, there was no precedent of clients ever suffering any write-offs on their accounts as a result of a broker’s bankruptcy. Today we find ourselves regretting that decision. The Lehman [...]
RAPID RESPONSES January 11, 2012 Capacity challenge The real issue facing the UK is how to increase capacity in our public transport system. Few transport professionals would support the newly approved High Speed Rail 2 project (HS2) compared to Rod Eddington’s highly regarded policy proposals from December 2006, which would make a genuine difference to public transport. These are all [...]
Our schools must be open to business so we can have a bright economic future January 10, 2012 NOW that pupils are back at school, it’s time to help them get down to business. One key question they need to be asked is: “Hands up who wants to go into business?” Their answer will not only shape the life chances of millions of young people, but will also have a dramatic impact on [...]
Facts must beat rhetoric in the earnings debate January 10, 2012 EVER since the Prime Minister announced his intentions to “crack down” on City cronyism and rewards for failure, something’s become very clear – there are an awful lot of people talking an awful lot of rubbish about an awfully complicated subject. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t talk about it – but we need to bring [...]
Cameron should follow Jesus on executive pay January 10, 2012 DAVID Cameron and Ed Miliband agree that corporate chief executives earn too much. If they earned less, the world would be a better place – or, more precisely, it would be a fairer place. The alleged victims of this injustice are those who earn far less. In an interview with the BBC on Sunday, Cameron [...]
RAPID RESPONSES January 10, 2012 High speed fail John Savin is right to slam High Speed 2 (HS2) [No recessions for 80 years: The fanciful world of High Speed Rail 2’s business case, yesterday]. And on top of the future uncertainty he highlights, there is past experience with high-speed rail. When High Speed 1 was completed at a cost of [...]
No recessions for 80 years: The fanciful world of High Speed Rail 2’s business case January 9, 2012 AFTER the well-flagged decision this afternoon to press ahead with the first stage of the High Speed 2 rail project (HS2), the City and business will be pressed to “contribute” to the strong business case. An aspect that MPs are singularly ill-equipped to consider, but that the City will focus on, is the way the [...]
MPs say we need less drink – they must be wasted January 9, 2012 BRITAIN’S middle classes have long been obsessed with what the other, poorer, half eats and drinks. Yesterday, MPs on the science committee called on the government to issue new guidance on alcohol consumption, recommending that people have at least two alcohol-free days a week. It’s a bit rich for politicians, who are often found worse-for-wear [...]
We’re the 100 per cent because we all pay tax January 9, 2012 DEBATES about tax can be pretty taxing – as two recent examples of both sides of the debate embellishing the facts to create outrage out of nothing clearly show. In a recent report, Action Aid found that 98 per cent of FTSE 100 companies had subsidiaries that operated within a tax haven. There are problems [...]
RAPID RESPONSES January 9, 2012 Crippled by costs I’m glad to see that Ernst and Young has now revealed the true cost that an EU financial transaction tax (FTT) would impose on the whole of the European Union and, in particular, the City of London [Tobin Tax could cost EU billions, Monday]. David Cameron would certainly be right to veto [...]