Pride before a fall: Osborne looked to special interests, not the UK’s perilous state November 29, 2011 THE Autumn Statement showed that George Osborne has failed to grasp the gravity of the economic crisis facing the UK. Urgent action was needed to brace the economy for double-dip recession and the fallout from the euro crisis. Instead, the chancellor announced a big increase in government borrowing, together with a series of measures that, [...]
The challenge to banks: Who will lead on service? November 29, 2011 WITH Virgin Money’s purchase of Northern Rock, hopes have been raised of a customer service revolution in the UK’s retail banking sector. Someone certainly needs to step up to the plate. Who dares to be different for the customer? That is the challenge waiting to be met. And it can be. The malaise is deep. [...]
Counting the costs of health and safety laws November 29, 2011 EMPLOYMENT minister Chris Grayling has announced plans to streamline workplace safety regulations and “put common sense back at the heart of health and safety”. As usual, common sense is here an excuse for not thinking very hard. If Grayling approached the matter in a principled way, he would realise that, rather being streamlined, workplace safety [...]
RAPID RESPONSES November 29, 2011 Management cuts [Re: There’s one economic policy the coalition has yet to try, yesterday] I definitely agree with the comment about the NHS and government bodies employing too many more managers than staff needed to actually get the job done. It has happened in many private sector areas too. I work in architecture and especially [...]
To print or not to print: ECB policy debate November 29, 2011 AS the Eurozone crisis rumbles on, European policy makers are fast running out of ideas. In recent weeks, the calls for the central bank to start printing have grown louder. But is this a wise route to take? “Print your way out” ROGER NIGHTINGALE independent consultant (Below, left) If a motorist, driving along a hilly [...]
DOLLAR-YEN IS WAKING FROM ITS SLUMBER November 29, 2011 UNTIL recently, the single most boring job in the currency business was to be a dollar-yen dealer. With the exception of a few days when the Bank of Japan (BoJ) would intervene in the markets, spiking dollar-yen by a couple of hundred points in a matter of minutes, the pair would remain moribund, sometimes moving [...]
THE TIPSTER November 29, 2011 THE Eurozone crisis rumbles on with daily reports. “Good” bond auctions in Italy sent the euro sharply higher and rumours of French downgrades pushed it lower. Euro-sterling languishes near its September and October lows of £0.8530 and looks vulnerable to further weakness. But traders should keep in mind that the euro rallied sharply against the [...]
FOREX ANALYST PICKS November 29, 2011 FOREX STRATEGIST JOHN KICKLIGHTER My pick: Short kiwi-dollar; long euro-loonie; long dollar-Swissie Expertise: Fundamental analysis with risk management Average time frame of trades: 1 day to 1 week The strong drive in risk trends through the historically quiet holiday period was remarkable. This is a clear sign of how troubled the European and global financial [...]
Audi’s Sportback is worth the price November 29, 2011 IT’S early Sunday morning. I’d rather be asleep but my daughter has discovered insomnia. After two hours of trying everything to get her back to sleep I succumb to the fail-safe car trip in the hope of inducing her slumber. Outside it’s raining sideways. She’s wailing as I run to the car and wet by [...]
CAR TALK November 29, 2011 FORD FOCUS IN THE SWEENEY’S SPOTLIGHT A movie remake of The Sweeney is exciting enough. But Jack Regan will be played by Ray Winstone and he’ll be driving the new 250PS Ford Focus ST. We just wanted an excuse to show it because it looks so good. The Sweeney is set in London after all, [...]
