Our current membership of the EU is stifling British dreams of free trade June 29, 2013 CHAMPIONING transatlantic free trade at last week’s G8 summit, David Cameron saw off a rearguard action from European governments desperate to cocoon Mediterranean farmers and French film-makers from competition. Tory veteran Ken Clarke claims British dreams of free trade can only be realised through the EU. In reality, the EU’s ebbing value as a free [...]
Interserve’s boss keen to take outsourcing firm to new heights June 29, 2013 Adrian Ringrose sees fresh opportunities WATCHING the former head of Virgin Galactic give a presentation to Interserve’s top management last year, Adrian Ringrose was struck by the public trust placed in a brand with no track record in a given sector. “You can get people to believe that you really are going to build a [...]
Printing site PhotoBox snaps up London-based Instagram firm June 28, 2013 THE COMPANY behind the PhotoBox online printers and the Moonpig greeting cards website has acquired StickyGram, a service that allows Instagram’s 130m users to turn their creations into fridge magnets. London-based PhotoBox Group, which was created in 2011 when PhotoBox and Moonpig merged, will announce the deal today. It has not disclosed how much it [...]
It’s time for investors to engage with some accounting philosophy June 28, 2013 PEOPLE in accounting rarely talk philosophy. They tend to discuss technical detail, so it’s no wonder that financial reporting – the reports and accounts of major companies – has become ever more complex. But over the next few months, we have a once-in-a-generation chance to do something about this. And it’s up to chairmen, chief [...]
A new name in the frame for press watchdog June 25, 2013 WHAT’S in a name? The Press Complaints Commission’s rechristening looks to be drawing ever closer, after its funding body applied to trade mark the name of its possible replacement. The Press Standards Board of Finance, which charges newspapers the levy used to fund the PCC, applied to trade mark “Independent Press Standards Organisation” at the [...]
The Treasury will gain nothing from property tax hikes June 25, 2013 A S THEY consider a “back-door” mansion tax and another increase in stamp duty in today’s Autumn Statement, George Osborne and Vince Cable should take a quick look at a dramatic drop in tax receipts after the last Budget. In March, stamp duty was hiked to 7 per cent for people buying property over £2m [...]
Bank official: Bond bubble is the biggest threat to financial stability June 25, 2013 OUTSPOKEN Bank of England official Andrew Haldane warned yesterday that the bursting of a bond bubble is the biggest threat to the world’s financial stability. Haldane, the Bank’s executive director of financial stability, told the Treasury Select Committee that central banks’ massive asset-buying programmes have created significant risks. “If I were to single out what for [...]
Incentives must be the foundation of a revolution in British education June 25, 2013 WITH aims including far more school choice for pupils from all backgrounds, and raising standards in state schools through competition, the goals of the 2010 Academies Act were bold. Autonomous groups would set up free schools, which in turn would revolutionise the education system. But current policy betrays such a revolution. Only comprehensive reforms, designed [...]
The retail funding myth – why the investment banks aren’t to blame June 24, 2013 BANKS used retail deposits to gamble on the investment banking casino!” That is the common perception of the cause behind the 2007-2008 financial crisis. The popular belief is that retail deposits, instead of being used to fund “safe” traditional retail lending like mortgages, were used to fund high-risk derivatives trading on the international capital markets. [...]
Cranes fill London sky as construction soars June 24, 2013 BUILDING activity across London has more than trebled since its low in mid-2010, booming to a four-year peak, data showed yesterday. Office construction has risen eight per cent over the past six months to 9.7m square feet of space under construction, bouncing off lows of 2.7m in the third quarter of 2010. The figures, in [...]
