China doesn’t fear a Donald Trump presidency: It relishes the prospect February 2, 2016 There was a game I would play with Beijing taxi drivers when asked where I was from. I gave one of three answers: America, the UK or Iran, to see how their reaction differed. To the latter I received a thumbs up, and gesticulations of a nuclear bomb going off. “Boom kapow!” the driver would [...]
The EU referendum is too important to be left to the BBC February 2, 2016 The EU referendum debate is well underway. Whether we vote this year or next, David Cameron has abandoned any pretence of attempting to fundamentally alter our EU relationship – with previous promises to repatriate employment law, clamp down on free movement, and change EU treaties all jettisoned. What tweaks Cameron is seeking look largely cosmetic or [...]
London congestion: The capital is heading towards gridlock unless the next mayor takes radical action February 2, 2016 Of all the issues facing the next mayor of London, one of the most pressing is the growing problem of congestion on the city’s roads. London’s roads carry 80 per cent of all passenger journeys and 90 per cent of freight in the capital, yet attract a fraction of the attention given to the Tube and [...]
Is the Prime Minister right to make migration central to his EU renegotiation demands? February 2, 2016 Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary, University of London, says Yes. David Cameron is doing the right thing – but running one hell of a risk. We can debate forever whether the Great British public are right to worry so much about immigration, but they do. Many voters also view the EU through the [...]
Tech stocks: Can the FANGs survive the bloodsuckers? February 2, 2016 January was a blood bath for technology stocks, and even the well regarded FANG stocks – Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google – copped it sweet for most of the month. Investors have been skittish around highly anticipated results. Facebook, down about 10 per cent at one point last month, soared to a record high post [...]
Should I leave the City for a startup? Nutmeg co-founder Nick Hungerford poses the five questions you really need to answer February 2, 2016 I'm often asked the question in this article’s headline and, with it, a question about timing: “I’m definitely getting out at some point, but is now the right time?”. This is usually followed by: “You know, I’ve just got engaged/pregnant/bought a house.” Before we go any further, let’s quash this myth. The reasons above are bad [...]
The EU’s mask has slipped: The dogma of political union is all that matters February 1, 2016 I have been fascinated by strategic simulations, or war games, since I was called upon to play them for various American diplomatic and intelligence services during my years in Washington. Games – if they are well enough designed to approximate reality and have good enough players – almost always get at hidden truths, and tend [...]
Falling oil prices are an opportunity for the City to help the Gulf States diversify February 1, 2016 I returned last week from an eight-day business visit to the Gulf, during which I moved between Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Every lord mayor in recent memory has made a point of visiting the Gulf, not just because of its economic importance but because the City can support the region’s countries in [...]
Cash isn’t dead and it isn’t even dying: Society won’t accept the demise of the humble banknote February 1, 2016 Seemingly every other day we see yet another article forecasting the death of cash and telling us that we will soon be making everyday transactions with wearable payment technology. Of course, the more tech-savvy of us probably will be, and many already are, but is the general UK consumer really ready and willing to adopt [...]
How to make a success of your failed New Year’s resolutions February 1, 2016 Were you one of the many workers who, on Monday 4 January, pledged that 2016 would be different? That this would be the year that you master the art of delegation, improve productivity, network in your lunch break and make it home for baby’s bath time? And as we hurtle into February, are you one [...]