McEwan’s turnaround plan wins backing of RBS shareholders June 25, 2014 INVESTORS overwhelmingly backed RBS chief Ross McEwan’s plans at his first annual general meeting at the top yesterday. More than 99 per cent backed the remuneration report, the remuneration policy and the re-election of McEwan to the board. Other banks had seen substantial rebellions this year, making RBS stand out for the high degree of [...]
MP Pat McFadden tells Mark Carney: You’re like an unreliable boyfriend June 24, 2014 The Bank of England was slammed by MPs yesterday, taking fire for erratic communication on when interest rates would likely begin to rise. Governor Mark Carney and other senior policymakers sent sterling down during their quizzing by politicians yesterday. Some analysts suggested that the policymakers were backing away from their new hawkish stance, with more [...]
George Osborne’s HS3 high speed rail link criticised as vanity project June 23, 2014 Chancellor George Osborne’s plan for a High Speed 3 rail link between Manchester and Leeds in the north of the country has been dubbed a “costly vanity project” by a leading economic think tank. The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) yesterday accused the chancellor of “concocting” a headline-grabbing plan ahead of the election in 2015, [...]
My debate with Piketty: Beware radical policies claiming to be above ideology June 23, 2014 A LACK of authenticity among politicians is a common lament. Conservative MP Sarah Wollaston expressed this conventional wisdom recently when she said: “I think the public dislike the cardboard cut-out, the lobby fodder, the sycophantic [planted] questions [in the Commons].” There’s some truth in this. Nobody likes a lackey. And the turgid “Does my Right [...]
As Obama warns of spillover from the Iraq crisis, could it destabilise the whole region? June 23, 2014 Dr Simon Mabon, a lecturer in international relations at Lancaster University, says Yes. When ISIS forces seized Mosul earlier this month, a spokesperson for the group declared that this signalled “the beginning of the end of the Sykes-Picot agreement”, the deal that shaped the modern Middle East. This claim suggests that ISIS is looking to [...]
Mark Carney to decide on property market limits June 23, 2014 The Bank of England’s latest report on the country’s financial stability is released this week, with the potential for fresh action to cool London’s frothy housing market. The Bank’s financial policy committee (FPC), which is chaired by governor Mark Carney, releases its twice-yearly outlook in systemic stability on Thursday. The governor and other policymakers have [...]
French economy lags Europe as Hollande fails to implement reforms June 20, 2014 France risks getting left behind in the Eurozone's economic recovery, as confidence in its markets has failed to pick in line with former crisis stricken southern countries. According to Berenberg's senior economist Christian Schulz, Paris needs a change of tack in order to keep up with the recovery in the EU's periphery, specifically Italy and [...]
Obama to send military advisers to Iraq as Isis militants seize weapons store June 19, 2014 IRAQ plunged further into chaos last night after militants from the Islamic State of Iraq in the Levant (Isis) seized control of a chemical weapons facility containing a stockpile of Saddam Hussain’s old munitions. The news prompted US President Barack Obama to announce he will send up to 300 military advisers to train Iraqi forces in [...]
Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct swoops on MySale stock June 18, 2014 Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct yesterday snapped up a 4.8 per cent stake in online fashion site MySale just a day after a pricing error caused shares to tank on its stock market debut. MySale plunged 27 per cent on Tuesday after the share price was listed as 2.26p instead of 226p, leading trading programmes to [...]
Elon Musk is right to share Tesla’s patents: Now he should ditch them altogether June 18, 2014 A WAR is being waged by the litigators of Silicon Valley. Their chosen weaponry: patent law. The battle is most obvious among the tech giants. In 2011, Apple and Google spent more on patent lawsuits and purchases than they put towards research and development. And it is consumers who get stung. A report released by [...]