Editor’s 2016 review: It’s been a year of momentous political change, but there’s every reason to look to the future December 22, 2016 Attempting to reflect such an extraordinary year with just a handful of our own front pages was always going to be difficult, but I thought we’d give it a go. The front page of City A.M. is (to borrow a phrase from our marketing department) the front door of our brand. The choice of splash, [...]
Does ultra-loose monetary policy work? The Treasury Committee wants to find out December 22, 2016 The Bank of England’s (BoE) post-financial crisis loose monetary policy may have had “unintended consequences”, according to the head of the Treasury Select Committee (TSC). TSC chair and Conservative MP Andrew Tyrie is set to launch a new inquiry into post-2008 central bank policy, which will investigate how effective low interest rates and accommodative instruments such [...]
Trump picks China hawk Peter Navarro to head his newly formed National Trade Council December 21, 2016 US President-elect Donald Trump today announced he has formed a White House National Trade Council (NTC) to be led by China hawk Peter Navarro. Navarro, an economist who has written books including "Death by China: How America Lost its Manufacturing Base" and "Crouching Tiger: What China's Militarism Means for the World", for years has urged a hard [...]
Labour MP leaves parliament for Sellafield, setting up by-election December 21, 2016 A Labour MP and critic Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership has gone for the nuclear option and announced he is to stand down from parliament, setting up a by-election. Jamie Reed is to quit as MP for Copeland in Cumbria at the end of January, moving on to become head of development and community relations at the [...]
Snooper’s charter: Bulk internet data collection ruled illegal by EU court December 21, 2016 Theresa May's attempt to introduce greater surveillance powers has suffered a major set back after an EU court ruled part of the UK's new laws are illegal. The highest court in Europe has ruled that electronic personal data from email and other online communications can not be retained on a general and indiscriminate basis such as [...]
Deloitte in humiliating apology to Downing Street for leaked Brexit memo criticising Theresa May December 21, 2016 Deloitte has apologised to the government for the leak of a note that was highly critical of a lack of strategic direction – and has been forced to give up bids for Whitehall contracts, according to reports. The accountancy firm said the note “was not a Deloitte point of view”, while acknowledging the “disruption” it [...]
The UK economy doesn’t need an industrial strategy – it needs liberation December 21, 2016 There seems to be widespread agreement within the political class that the British economy is in need of “rebalancing.” It is argued that too big a fraction of UK output is generated by the services sector, and too little by manufacturing. Changing the sectoral composition of British GDP is an explicit objective of Theresa May’s [...]
The death of cash, the rise of trade unions and other eclectic 2017 predictions December 21, 2016 It’s certainly been an eventful year. But rather than dwell on the past, what sort of things can we expect in 2017? Here are a few eclectic predictions. Sweden may become the world’s first cashless economy. Notes and coins are already fast disappearing as a means of payment, and retailers are legally entitled to refuse to [...]
Wanted for 2017: A leader with a strong moral compass December 21, 2016 It feels like 2016 is never-ending. As I sit here writing my final column of the year I’m looking at the news: 12 killed in a lorry attack on a Berlin Christmas Market and the Russian ambassador shot dead in Turkey. In the last 12 months, the UK voted to leave the EU, Donald Trump was [...]
Is Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon deluded to think that Scotland can get a special Brexit deal? December 21, 2016 Ruth Davidson MSP, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, says Yes. We want the best Brexit deal for Scotland and that means the UK coming together to negotiate hard in the interests of all of us. Nicola Sturgeon talks about compromise, but written in black and white in her own report is her true intention – [...]