It is the perfect time to get your pension affairs sorted January 7, 2013 INVESTMENT COMMENT MAY I suggest a New Year’s resolution? Spend some time thinking about whether you should top up your pension pot. It does not have to take long, and there are a number of good reasons why it is important to act sooner rather than later. One is that chancellor George Osborne announced changes [...]
Strategic investment in an uncertain 2013 January 7, 2013 GLOBAL equity markets have started the year strongly. Investors seem pleased that the US fiscal cliff has been averted, or at least deferred. Now the bigger and more important issue is the US debt ceiling, which will be reached in spring 2013. Until then, financial markets will likely remain volatile. In the longer term, we [...]
The coalition’s lack of purpose has ruined our freedom to fail or thrive January 6, 2013 A SOCIETY must provide its people with certain basics, including security, food and shelter. A civilised society should also provide freedom. There is no precise definition of the term, but it is basically a status that allows people to do what they want, provided they do not interfere with the freedom of others. A market [...]
The government must use its mid-term review to focus on our role in Europe January 6, 2013 THIS week will see the coalition government publish a mid-term review that will look back at its achievements, and set the agenda for the period running up to the next general election in 2015. In many ways, the coalition has already exceeded expectations by overcoming political differences to still be a fully functioning government halfway [...]
Flailing high street has worse to come in the year ahead January 6, 2013 AFTER holding their breath for the last few weeks, some retailers can at last allow themselves a cautious sigh of relief. Positive sales numbers from the likes of John Lewis and Next have given the sector a much-needed dose of optimism, resulting in a slight hike in share prices for some of the larger players. [...]
Should the government’s policy to cut child benefit for higher earners be welcomed? January 6, 2013 YES Sam Bowman These reforms are the next step to rolling back the culture of benefits for all, and they should be applauded. Nobody earning more than £50,000 a year needs extra money from the state. Arguments against withdrawing benefits for the poor may be compelling, but it is hard to feel the same way [...]
Rapid responses January 6, 2013 Export revolution [Re: We need an export-led revolution to save the UK economy, Friday] Exporting is a key area where the UK should be doing better. An “export-led revolution” should focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are not keeping up with the pace of our overseas competitors. Currently, only 20 per cent of [...]
St Tropez: glitz, glamour and a little genuine beauty January 6, 2013 IT HAS become a cliche to mourn the death of the once unspoiled fishing “village” that was St Tropez – the days when Brigitte Bardot walked barefoot along the Quai de L’Epi and you could barter over a freshly caught sea bass at the pier. Or even the days when you could still get a [...]
Enjoy Cephalonia in style at Faros Suites, Fiskardo January 6, 2013 IF YOU want to get a flavour for Cephalonia and stay in one of the prettiest harbours, head for Faros Suites in Fiskardo. There’s nothing ritzy about the apartments but they’re comfortable, modern and tinged with South African artefacts installed by the owners who spent their childhood there. There are seven apartments, some with sea-views, [...]
Madrid might just be the best capital city you’ve never been to January 6, 2013 TO MOST Brits, Barcelona is the Spanish city. The whacky cathedral by Gaudi that isn’t finished almost 90 years after he died, “Barca” the only football team in the world that leads a debate on independence, Las Ramblas, F1, the list goes on. Yet to the Spanish, Madrid is their Capital, not just in name [...]
