The junior doctors’ strike is a symptom of politicians’ failure to embrace real public sector reform April 28, 2016 Tom Bower’s recently published biography of Tony Blair is fascinating. Not because of any sensational revelations, but rather because of the relentless narrative describing the failure of politicians and senior civil servants to understand how to make public services work more efficiently, or indeed how an economy really works at all. They simply didn’t get [...]
EU referendum: Former chancellor Norman Lamont says trade won’t dry up in the event of Brexit April 27, 2016 Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Norman Lamont has said that trade will not dry up in the event of Brexit, as he belittled negative economic forecasts linked to a Leave vote. The Tory grandee said the idea that trade is going to dry up and jobs are going to be endangered had very little justification in fact. [...]
US Presidential Election 2016: Donald Trump comes closer to winning nomination and one-on-one battle with Hillary Clinton April 27, 2016 After storming to victory in a number of states, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are starting to look like an unstoppable force and an immovable object. And if they meet for a one-on-one, you can expect fireworks, with Trump having attacked Clinton last night after he won all five primaries. Speaking at Trump Tower in New York, [...]
Ukip’s Nigel Farage reckons his party will make a “significant breakthrough” in upcoming elections April 27, 2016 Ukip's leader is feeling rather bullish about his party's chances in the upcoming local elections. Nigel Farage reckons his party is about to make a "significant breakthrough" in next week's elections, held in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and London. In fact, he said his party is the only one who has "a chance of winning [...]
EU referendum: Expats want the UK to remain a member of the European Union April 27, 2016 People living in the United Kingdom are engaging in an increasingly fierce debate over whether the country should remain in the EU. But Britons living outside the UK are just as passionate about the outcome, with a recent poll suggesting they will overwhelmingly vote for the country to remain as part of the 28-member bloc. [...]
EU referendum: German finance industry believes Frankfurt would be “major winner” of Brexit April 27, 2016 The German finance industry believes Frankfurt would emerge as a "major winner" if the UK votes for a so-called Brexit. A survey of 400 businesses in the sector also found support for the London Stock Exchange-Deutsche Boerse merger. But there are concerns about the headquarters of the holding company created by the merger being based in London [...]
EU referendum: Leave makes gains but Remain still leads while undecideds could swing it April 27, 2016 With under two months until the UK votes on its membership of the EU, support for Leave has risen marginally, but Remain still comfortably leads. A recent poll by Survation on behalf of IG Group puts backing for Leave on 38 per cent, a rise of two per cent since the last poll for IG [...]
EU referendum: OECD Brexit warning in numbers, quotes, and charts April 27, 2016 The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) issued a stark picture of what a British exit from the European Union would mean for the UK economy this morning. That UK would be worse off “for generations to come” according to the OECD was just one of a number of comments and charts published today that will be [...]
US Presidential Election 2016: Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton take step closer to White House April 27, 2016 The frontrunners in the campaigns to secure the Republican and Democratic nominations for the 2016 US Presidential race have traded blows as they edged closer to the finish line last night with primary wins in several north east states. Donald Trump secured victory in all five states that held contests yesterday – Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. [...]
US Presidential Election 2016: Clinton vs Trump – whose economic policy is better for markets? April 27, 2016 It is a momentous time in terms of geopolitics. A plethora of major events with potentially significant investment consequences will take place this year. They range from the Brexit hurricane in the UK, to tectonic shifts in the oil economy abroad. Even ostensibly local conflagrations, such as political deadlock in Brazil, may impact wider markets. But [...]