Autumn Statement: This ‘pragmatism’ looks like a recipe for flat growth November 17, 2022 After the Autumn Statement, what does the Tory party stand for? Taxes on aspiration. Taxes on entrepreneurs and small investors. And stealth raids on businesses.
Autumn Statement: Jeremy Hunt’s bitter medicine may be too harsh November 16, 2022 The City is not worried about a low-tax mujahideen - but economists are concerned this grim budget could choke off much-needed growth
Autumn Statement: Another windfall tax raid would further damage Britain’s reputation November 15, 2022 We are now less than 48 hours from the Autumn Statement, and knowing quite what medicine Jeremy Hunt feels it necessary for Brits to choke down to fix the so-called ‘black hole’ in the finances. One hopes the rumours of higher council tax, a reversed bank surcharge reduction and a variety of other pocket-pinching measures [...]
Sacre bleu! But complacency, not Paris, is the City’s real enemy November 14, 2022 Sacre bleu! Zut alors! The only possible reactions to news that Paris’ bourse has, by one measure, overtaken London’s stock exchange as Europe’s largest. The calculation sent a shockwave through the City’s lunch spots today, just about replacing the fear and dread associated with Thursday’s budget as the first topic of conversation. Could it be [...]
Truss’ growth diagnosis was the right one November 10, 2022 One of the tragedies, if that’s the right word, of Liz Truss’ demise is that her key economic observation – that Britain isn’t growing quickly enough – may well be lost to history, discredited thanks to the cack-handed way in which she and her Chancellor attempted to address it. The noises-off from the new administration [...]
Brewdog’s Qatar ad backlash should be a lesson for other brands November 8, 2022 The backlash to Brewdog’s ‘anti-World Cup’ campaign is a lesson for other brands It was inevitable that a football World Cup in Qatar would eventually drag the business world into the sporting world. Sponsors of the four-yearly jamboree are being forced to confront awkward questions – and others are taking the opportunity to make hay. [...]
Editorial: Andrew Bailey’s guidance is a sign of just how shaky the economy looks November 4, 2022 The latter is always second guessing where governor Andrew Bailey and the rest of the monetary policy committee will send interest rates. The former rarely provides any clues. Investors’ rate expectations are shaped by thousands of pieces of data, but they essentially boil down to a couple of key themes. Firstly, inflation. Markets make their [...]
The City is a green machine but ESG claims must be scrutinised properly November 2, 2022 Greenwashing, virtue-signalling and corporate guff are setting back the City’s environmental agenda Is it pro-bird? Is it anti-plane? Or is it just a bubble? That’s the question that many in the City have been asking themselves over the past few months about those three little words: environmental, social, and governance. The rise of ESG was [...]
Call-in powers would be a grave threat to the regulator’s vital independence October 31, 2022 Politicians should be wary of the damage they could do to our regulators’ reputation for independence if they move forward with call-in powers Independence is a funny old thing. At a national level, it can be won and lost in the blink of an eye. At more prosaic levels, building up independence – and a [...]
London’s businesses need more affordable housing for their young staff October 31, 2022 Few of Britain’s problems could not be solved by putting shovels into the ground. Nowhere is that more true than when it comes to housing – a shortage that could, if left unchecked, become a brake on the entire country’s economic growth. On our front page today we report on a potential fall in London [...]