Exam targets shouldn’t be prioritised at the expense of a decent education August 28, 2012 THE highly emotional debate still raging about GCSE grades is not very enlightening. But what has happened tells us a lot about how incentives matter, and how they affect outcomes. At the same time, it shows us that unless a proper set of social norms is in place, incentives can have unanticipated, perverse effects. In [...]
This government should not try to hinder Heathrow August 28, 2012 AIRPORTS are an umbilical cord for the economy – tourism, inward investment and export opportunities all flow into Britain through them. Any constriction, or lack in capacity, has a harmful effect, limiting our potential for growth. Particularly when we are in the midst of double dip recession, we should be looking to the parts of [...]
Is America’s Republican Party right to be considering a return to the gold standard? August 28, 2012 YES Detlev Schlichter There is simply no alternative to going back to hard and apolitical money. It is the only form of money that is compatible with capitalism. Our present fiat money system is a creation not of markets, but of politics, designed to allow the constant injection of unlimited new money into banks for [...]
Rapid Responses August 28, 2012 Vaguely taxing [RE: Taxation shouldn’t be determined by subjective opinions of fairness, Tuesday] It is interesting that recent developments in political circles have redefined the basis upon which tax policy is to be developed. A poorly thought-out policy will cause more harm than good. In the case of the mansion tax, it is a double [...]
The FF is a supermodel on steroids August 28, 2012 Ferrari doesn’t tend to do things by halves. When it launched its FF model – the first four-wheel-drive in its history – it did so by having its two F1 racing drivers drive it at the top of Plan De Corones in the Dolomites at 2,350 metres. It’s fair to say, then, that Ferrari is [...]
Car talk August 28, 2012 Bentley shows off its most powerful creation The fastest, most powerful road-going Bentley ever makes its debut at the Moscow Motor Show today. Capable of 205mph, the all-wheel-drive flagship Continental GT Speed is powered by a 6-litre twin-turbo W12 engine developing 616bhp, and can sprint from 0-62mph in 4.2 seconds. Chassis, steering and brakes are [...]
G4S takes £50m hit from Olympics contract fiasco August 28, 2012 Security firm G4S, at the centre of a political and media storm over its failure to provide enough guards for the London Olympics, said the fiasco would cost it £50m and it was fighting to rebuild its reputation. Under-fire boss Nick Buckles, hauled before MPs last month to explain why troops had to be drafted [...]
FTSE 100 lower on Eurozone uncertainty August 28, 2012 The headline index opened lower on the first business day after the summer bank holiday, thanks to gloomy economic news from Germany and uncertainty over the European Central Bank’s plans to contain the debt crisis. Specialist chemicals maker Yule Catto was the strongest riser this morning, up 6.35 per cent on the back of announcing [...]
Cairn buys further position in Morocco August 28, 2012 British oil firm Cairn Energy bought a further position to hunt for oil and gas off the coast of Morocco, building on its strategy to balance its exploration portfolio beyond high-risk Greenland. The company said today that it would pay $60m (£38m) towards the costs of an exploration well in Morocco in return for a [...]
Sweden turns the page and Scandinavian noir explains why | City A.M. August 28, 2012 EVERYONE knows that Sweden is a social-democratic paradise, where taxes are high, the welfare state is big and everyone enjoys the benefits. That doesn’t mean it’s true. In recent years, research like that compiled in Richard Wilkinson’s and Kate Pickett’s The Spirit Level has painted Sweden and its Scandinavian neighbours as political role models. The [...]
