The coronavirus could cause flexible working to go viral March 11, 2020 With each day that passes, it becomes clearer that the world is facing a once-in-a-generation crisis of public health. With Italy now locked down and governments around the world scrambling to contain Covid-19, there is no doubt that the impact on daily life across the globe will exceed anything seen before in most of our [...]
Should the Bank of England consider an emergency interest rate cut in response Covid-19? March 11, 2020 Should the Bank of England consider an emergency interest rate cut in response Covid-19? Vicky Pryce, former joint head of the Government Economic Service and author of It’s the Economy, Stupid, says YES. This is an emergency situation and emergency measures are needed. The Budget needs to focus on providing short-term help, but a joint [...]
Has the time come for healthtech? March 10, 2020 More than 110,000 coronavirus cases have been recorded worldwide and at least 3,800 patients have died. Only time will tell how devastating the effect of coronavirus will ultimately be on the human population and the global economy. Whatever happens, the Covid-19 virus could well go down in history as a moment of profound change in [...]
Government bides its time as markets panic March 10, 2020 When sorrows come, they come not single spies but in battalions. Global markets were already nervous about the looming consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, so Saudi Arabia’s declaration of an oil price war obliterated what little confidence remained on trading floors around the globe. Oil prices had already fallen as the virus took a bite [...]
Can the chancellor protect the UK economy from coronavirus? March 10, 2020 You have to feel sympathy for Rishi Sunak. Suddenly appointed as chancellor after the unexpected resignation of Sajid Javid, he found himself with just weeks to put together the first Budget of the Boris Johnson era. Any chance he could simply copy Javid’s homework was then dashed when the former chancellor gave the Times chapter [...]
A history lesson on the Black Death teaches us to resist the urge to panic about Covid-19 March 10, 2020 When Pope Francis announced the cancellation of major public engagements, his tired face half-obscured by a handkerchief filled front pages across the world — before he headed into self-imposed isolation. Nearly 700 years ago, Pope Clement VI was trying very hard not to catch a different infectious disease that was then sweeping Europe. Known to [...]
Lebanon should learn the lessons of the past to protect the future when it comes to its debt problem March 10, 2020 In a solemn press conference over the weekend, the relatively new Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab delivered a speech that will go down in history. Conceding that the country was paying for mistakes made in the past, Diab announced to the world that Lebanon would not be rendering whole the bond payment due on Monday, [...]
DEBATE: Should the chancellor bend the fiscal rules to increase spending in his first Budget? March 10, 2020 Should the chancellor bend the fiscal rules to increase spending in his first Budget? Will Tanner, director of Onward, says YES. It is the prerogative of a twenty-first century chancellor to set the rules of your own tenure. Gordon Brown, George Osborne, Philip Hammond and Sajid Javid (who never delivered a Budget) all established the [...]
Small Budget tweaks could give startups big improvements in access to cash March 10, 2020 Britain’s small business funding picture is mixed. The good news is that, while access to traditional bank loans has been limited since the financial crisis, founders have undoubtedly benefited from the rise of alternative finance. Over £2bn is now lent through peer-to-peer lenders and close to 400 equity crowdfunding deals take place in the UK [...]
Life inside Italy’s quarantine zone March 9, 2020 I was at home with my family when we learned that our town was one of those being put into the so-called red zone, quarantined to battle coronavirus. We had discussed how nursery closures were affecting our ability to work. But then a leaked draft of the government decree made us realise things were about [...]