Letters to the editor – 21/11 – Gibraltar trouble, Pension fund, Best of Twitter
Gibraltar trouble
[Re: Spanish ambassador called over Gibraltar, yesterday]
The Spanish government continues to play the Gibraltar card to bury political scandal and harsh economic news at home (including unemployment of 26 per cent, and youth unemployment well in excess of 50 per cent). After 300 years of separate development, the Gibraltarians surely have the right to determine how and by whom they are governed. It seems that the Spanish do not realise this. Then again, Spain is the only country in Western Europe that still does not recognise Kosovo’s independence.
Name Withheld
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Pension fund
[Re: UK recovery is built on a debt bubble that cannot last – it’s time for change, yesterday]
Using public sector pensions to pick business winners is risky. The Californian public sector pension fund CalPERS, which Allen Simpson cites, is a case in point. The volatility of its returns has made planning pensions a nightmare. The fund lost a record 23 percent in 2009, gained almost 21 percent in 2011, before making just 1 per cent the year after. It was fully-funded in 2007, but now has just 70 per cent of the money needed to meet its commitments. The crisis had an impact, but politicised decisions made things worse.
Karl Russell
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BEST OF TWITTER
UBS says Royal Mail IPO should have been done after the employee pay and pensions issues were resolved.
@ChukaUmunna
US CPI drops again. So much for QE generating inflation. West now looking more like Japan.
@KingEconomist
European markets smacked down on negative deposit rates possibility. Rumour, but causing ripples.
@isaacosei
Modernisation not about SW1 deciding what’s right. Modern Tory party would be democratic, decentralised.
@DouglasCarswell