Financial services should be at the heart of trade talks March 5, 2020 In my experience, financial services are rarely the focus of heated family discussions, or of so-called water cooler conversations with colleagues and friends. Instead, we tend to become passionate about individual politicians or teachers, healthcare or utility companies. This is entirely understandable given that those issues affect our everyday lives — or at least are [...]
Huawei is uniting Tory backbenchers – but can they win over Saj? March 4, 2020 What Brexit put asunder, Huawei appears to be joining. Yesterday morning, former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith led a debate about the Chinese firm’s involvement in the UK’s 5G infrastructure. He was joined by plenty of Conservative MPs you might expect – fellow Leavers David Davis, Bob Seely and Owen Paterson – and plenty of [...]
Londoners can step it up to tackle the homelessness crisis March 4, 2020 Sleeping on a cold, wet pavement is not a fate anyone should have to face in the fifth wealthiest country in the world. And yet, 4,266 of our fellow citizens were recorded doing just that on a given night last autumn, according to government figures published last Thursday. Each person counted is living through the [...]
How to select a quality investment manager – or at least a decent one March 4, 2020 Humans are bad investors. Unfortunately, they think they are great at it. So how can you protect yourself from yourself? Here are your need-to-knows in finding an investment manager who might help. You are a bad investor If you have money, you were probably successful. Congratulations. That does not make you a good investor. Research [...]
The world’s biggest economy is scared March 4, 2020 The final weeks of 2019 saw the traditional flurry of analysts and market commentators raising the prospect of so-called black swan events in 2020. Looking back through these notes today, one is confronted with a range of nightmare scenarios ranging from military conflict in the South China Sea to the collapse of a major investment bank [...]
From Yes We Can to Feel The Bern — American politics is a masterclass in messaging March 4, 2020 US politics is a fascinating watch, especially if you’re interested in branding, communications, and the successes and failures of connecting with audiences. And for those that follow it through this lens, right now is prime-time viewing. As Democrats vote on their candidate to take on Donald Trump in November, the political battlegrounds in the US [...]
Sadiq Khan’s rent control pledge is a minefield of unintended consequences March 4, 2020 There is no denying that London faces a housing crisis. Similarly, there is no denying that many people feel that their rents take too high a proportion of their income. If you are Sadiq Khan, the solution is obvious: if people object to high rents, the state should cap them — problem solved. It is [...]
DEBATE: Should the chancellor rethink plans to get rid of entrepreneurs’ relief in the Budget? March 4, 2020 Should the chancellor rethink plans to get rid of entrepreneurs’ relief in next week’s Budget? Caroline Plumb OBE, chief executive and co-founder of Fluidly, says YES. Critics of entrepreneurs’ relief want proof of its economic impact, but it’s not as simple as throwing a couple of headline figures around and dismissing beneficiaries as the already [...]
Priti Patel vs. Philip Rutnam: It’s in Britain’s interest that bureaucracy does not win March 4, 2020 The reverberations around the resignation of Sir Philip Rutnam, the top civil servant at the Home Office, continue. Priti Patel, the home secretary, is receiving a barrage of abuse. Labour’s John McDonnell has pronounced that he cannot see how Patel could carry on. He raised the possibility that she might be in some way “suspended”. [...]
Direct Line to cut jobs as customers mostly online March 3, 2020 It’s been a difficult start to the year for Direct Line. The company has paid out £1m worth of travel insurance claims as trips get cancelled due to the spread of coronavirus, and £35m in home insurance payouts due to last month’s storms. The Direct Line insurance group, which also owns the Churchill and Green [...]