Nanny can’t cure the UK’s alcohol price headache March 25, 2012 THE era of big, bossy, state interference, top-down lever pulling is coming to an end.” So said David Cameron in 2008. Of all the hostages to fortune politicians take in their years in opposition, this has the makings of a classic. It’s hard to believe that less than two years have passed since the bright-eyed [...]
Future energy demand requires planning now March 25, 2012 AS THE financial year draws to a close, and with a degree of stability in financial markets, we can now think about the longer-term future of the City and London’s financial services. The findings of the City of London’s latest research report, published in partnership with London First and the City Property Association, highlight the [...]
RAPID RESPONSES March 25, 2012 Priority boarding [Re: A third runway at Heathrow is essential if London is to be a globally competitive city, Friday] Paul Willis is right that Boris Island is imaginative but twenty years away. The short-term answer is for government to dictate that only strategic business routes are served by Heathrow. New routes to China and [...]
A third runway at Heathrow is essential if London is to be a globally competitive city March 22, 2012 IT IS crucial for the UK’s economic recovery that London remains a global centre for trade, able to compete with old rivals such as New York and Tokyo as well as new emerging cities like Beijing, Doha and Sao Paulo. As the rhetoric around diversifying the economy and ending our reliance on financial services ramps [...]
The Budget sent mixed messages on tax certainty March 22, 2012 WE’VE had good news, bad news, and surprising news from the Budget. The UK looks attractive, partly due to financial tension in Europe. The question is whether the Budget added to or reduced the UK’s appeal as a place to do business. The answer, unsurprisingly, is mixed. The reduction of additional rate income tax from [...]
Even Disney can’t pick a winning movie script March 22, 2012 SPARE a thought for the Mouse. Disney’s latest movie spectacular, John Carter, has lost the company $200m (£127m) after a disastrous opening. Meanwhile The Hunger Games opens at cinemas today (see p.32 for our review) on speculation that it will achieve a record-breaking run. Lionsgate, the studio responsible, has seen its stock rise some 75 [...]
RAPID RESPONSES March 22, 2012 Spun up [Re: Ken Livingstone is blameless in his tax planning, Wednesday] Doug Richard makes some valid points, but the tenor of his article is misguided. The media is right to focus on hypocrisy wherever it spots it. Politicians are too ready to criticise individuals or companies, particularly if the story can be spun to [...]
There was some good news in this timid Budget but we need a strategy for growth March 21, 2012 IT’S hard to work out where George Osborne draws his lines in the sand. But, in so far as he draws them anywhere, yesterday’s Budget indicates he doesn’t always draw them in the right places. So, while there were some welcome steps in taxation policy, it seems nearly impossible to detect a coherent strategy. Initially, [...]
Amazon’s gorilla warfare teaches a tactical lesson March 21, 2012 PUBLISHING is full of contradictions. Over the last decade, business book publishers have been full of advice they never followed themselves. The industry that brought us the handbook for the digital age, The Long Tail, didn’t attend to its prediction that mass markets would fragment into thousands of micro markets. Did You Spot The Gorilla, [...]
Romney’s rivals won’t quit as his lead grows March 21, 2012 DAYS before voters in Illinois went to the polls, Rick Santorum described November’s presidential election as “the most important since 1860.” Absurd historical analogies are usually more Newt Gingrich’s thing, but Santorum got one thing right. His candidacy for the presidency, like Abraham Lincoln’s over 150 years ago, is now history. Even with a victory [...]