Bank of England independence must remain no matter the political weather May 16, 2022 When Gordon Brown summoned then-governor of the Bank of England Eddie George to his office at the Treasury in 1997, the man in charge at Threadneedle Street was accompanied by a young civil servant – one Andrew Bailey. At that meeting, George – and presumably Bailey – were surprised to be told that the newly [...]
Windfall tax: There was little sympathy for loss-making energy giants in depths of 2020 May 10, 2022 Is business turning on business? It appeared so yesterday morning when the well-respected Tesco chair John Allan said the case for a windfall tax on energy giants had become “overwhelming.” Needless to say, Labour jumped all over this, just as they did when the former Financial Times editor Lionel Barber said the same. But alas, [...]
Sir Keir’s lockdown beers shouldn’t lift Tory spirits too much amid economic outlook May 10, 2022 Today’s Queen’s Speech is an event of great pomp and circumstance, even if this year the Queen’s Speech will not in fact feature the Queen. For a government riding high, it is an opportunity to push forward some key ambitions for the coming year. For this government, mind, it’s more of a chance to set [...]
London’s rebound gets a boost but rest of UK should garner attention May 9, 2022 Crossrail opening and the Bank branch of the Northern line coming back into action within the space of a fortnight? Ambassador, you are spoiling us. Both are great news for the capital’s rebound from the pandemic, and in the case of the Northern line it’s particularly so for the Square Mile. It would perhaps be [...]
Trade off between inflation and growth is now for the birds May 5, 2022 The trade off between taming inflation by hiking rates at the expense of growth now seems for the birds. The economy is headed for a tough time, most likely a recession, regardless of what the Bank of England does. The UK’s present conundrum is one of the best examples in modern history of just how [...]
SNP’s record is nothing to sing about, but unionists must win the emotional argument May 4, 2022 The SNP’s record where they have power is poor – yet their continued victories suggest unionists need to up the ante For all the excitement – ok, some sarcasm – of local elections across England tomorrow what should really be drawing most attention are results north of the border. What should be a decision about [...]
Windfall tax misses the point – energy giants must invest May 3, 2022 A windfall tax is a terrible idea – but BP would have been savvy to up investment not go for a buyback It’s the middle of 2020, and the price of oil has tanked to almost single digits. Energy giants are being slammed by an almost total collapse in demand. BP’s share price is down [...]
Suspicion remains that Rathi is annoying all the right people at the FCA May 3, 2022 An industrial dispute at the City regulator is always going to make good copy for financial journalists, and this week’s planned strike at the Financial Conduct Authority is no different. Scratch a little deeper, though, and it appears Unite the Union’s industrial action is more student politics than the first signs of revolution in Stratford. [...]
So what’s the plan, Elon? April 26, 2022 PLENTY of people have laughed at Elon Musk over the years, and often it’s the eccentric billionaire that’s had the last laugh. At various points, everything from Tesla to SpaceX has been written off – but even with a track record of proving critics (mostly) wrong, his anticipated acquisition of Twitter looks an almighty risk. [...]
A rising tide lifts all boats, and London is providing the most obvious bouyancy April 22, 2022 It might be too much to expect a thank you from the rest of the country – but London and the south east can be entitled to feel a little hard done by our polling of the rest of the country’s attitude towards the region’s economic input. Those who have made their lives in the [...]
