As Moscow muscles in on Ukraine, Russian money still poisons our shores January 28, 2022 It is on the borders that you see the threads coming apart. In Ukraine and Bosnia the danger unravelling in Europe feels urgent as agreements that have kept us safe and peaceful are being challenged. With 100,000 Russian troops massed on the border it’s easy to focus on them, but it’s not just tanks that [...]
The entrepreneurial spirit inspired by the pandemic will future-proof our economy January 28, 2022 It is considered almost universally true that “business hates uncertainty”. A lack of predictability stifles investment, scares off backers and gives business owners sleepless nights – but it also gives oxygen to creativity. During the worst of this crisis, while established businesses scrambled to minimise disruption, entrepreneurs went looking for opportunity. A new world emerged, [...]
Complacent monetary policy has driven an inflation crisis, not businesses’ price hikes January 28, 2022 Inflation hit 5.4 per cent in December, its highest level since 1992. It is widely expected to reach seven per cent in the next few months – it has already reached that level in the US. There are several reasons why inflation has raised its ugly head again. Demand for gas and oil has outstripped [...]
Matt Hancock: Britain will be left in the dust with our tepid attitude to cryptocurrencies January 27, 2022 We were already living in an age of change like no other. Now the pandemic has accelerated that change and Britain must embrace the opportunities it brings, or we will lose out. Most obvious is the Zoom revolution. There have been more rapid changes to the way we work in the past two years than [...]
Holocaust Memorial Day: in the words of survivors January 27, 2022 Six million Jewish people were murdered by the Nazis in the Holocaust and millions of lives were taken under Nazi persecution of other groups, like Roma and Sinti people, black people, gay people, mentally and physically disabled people. And while we said, “never again”, genocides followed since in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur, with millions [...]
Russia cosies up to Italy in the face of EU inertia January 27, 2022 Vladimir Putin met with Italian business executives via video link on Wednesday, as the UK and the US prepared to send in more troops to Eastern Europe yesterday. The Russian autocrat called Italy a “key partner” for Moscow, and vowed to be a reliable energy supplier. While the European Union has struggled to reconcile its [...]
Backwards attitudes towards loss-making, high growth companies are stunting success January 27, 2022 Outside of Silicon Valley and New York, the UK is one of the leading capitals for tech innovation. Its start-up ecosystem is worth an impressive £105bn, according to a global report from advisers StartupGenome. London’s access to talent, capital, and investors is enviable, but the country as a whole lags behind some of its European [...]
The battle of London’s protected views exposes the power mismatch on housing January 27, 2022 If you’re reading this newspaper, you live in London and hopefully you love it. If you don’t love it, perhaps you still recognize its unique flavour. London is a melting pot where history finds innovation, where the majestic cathedral of St Paul’s neighbours the skyscrapers of the City. This concoction of old and new, of [...]
Commons snapshot: Boris goes big on Ukraine to shake off birthday blues January 26, 2022 While Boris Johnson struggled to regain control of his party in the midst of allegations of birthday parties in No10, he was for a moment, at least, able to divert attention away from it while presenting the UK as a strong force in the face of Russian aggression in Ukraine. “If President Putin were to [...]
Virus modellers must admit their mistakes and learn from the practice of transparency January 26, 2022 By now, we all know about the poor track record of prediction by the academic modelling teams advising the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies – Sage. The unreliable nature of economic projections is also evident, as analysis of the Survey of Professional Forecasters (SPF) database shows. Yet the epidemiologists could still learn from the experience [...]