The City needs a Thatcher-style revolution June 18, 2025 Fifty years after Thatcher took charge, the City of London faces a crisis of confidence and capital— and only bold, radical reform in her spirit can revive its global standing, says Tim Focas Hard to believe, but it is 50 years since Margaret Thatcher took the helm of the Conservative Party. Though her tenure as [...]
The Fed shouldn’t hit back at Trump, just talk louder April 24, 2025 The problem with Trump’s “major loser” jibes at the Fed isn’t that they’re wrong (though they are), it’s that they’re being heard, says Tim Focas If you closed your eyes and listened to President Trump lambast Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, you might think you were watching this Sunday’s Wrestlemania, not a political announcement. “Major [...]
Britain should ignore Trump’s tariffs and unleash unilateral free trade April 8, 2025 A UK conversation focused on a trade deal with the US is depressingly small-minded. The best way to beat tariffs is to lower our own barriers and trade with the world, says Tim Focas The global trade war is now an all-out economic slugfest, with Britain caught in the middle. President Trump has slapped a [...]
15 years on from The Big Short, securitisation is back March 7, 2025 The Big Short hit bookshelves 15 years ago, but the era of securitisation it depicts is far from over — in fact, it’s booming, says Tim Focas Fifteen years ago this month, Michael Lewis’s The Big Short hit bookshelves, exposing how Wall Street’s reckless financial engineering fuelled the 2008 financial crisis. It was a cautionary tale to [...]
The FCA’s bond market reforms don’t go far enough February 7, 2025 The FCAs plans to make it easier for companies to issue smaller bonds are a step in the right direction, but if the UK truly wants to unlock its corporate bond market for retail investors, more must be done, says Tim Focas The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) plans to cut red tape around the corporate [...]
Forget Reeves’ CV – there’s a bigger transparency problem in monetary policy November 28, 2024 The real discussion shouldn’t be about whether Reeves deserves to call herself an “economist”. It should focus on the unchecked power of current central bank leaders, the far-reaching consequences of their decisions, and how we hold them to account, says Tim Focas The recent controversy over Rachel Reeves’ tenure as an economist at the Bank [...]
Americans do it better (investing, that is) October 9, 2024 British companies are often accountable to passive shareholders, such as pension funds, leading to risk aversion and short-termism. The US invests differently, with much better results, says Tom Focas The UK economy is in dire need of a rejuvenation. Growth is still stagnating, productivity lags behind global competitors, and industries that once anchored the nation’s [...]
Don’t believe Miliband’s spin on green energy September 5, 2024 The only thing “record-breaking” about the latest clean energy auction is the subsidies Ed Miliband’s thrown at it. Time to level with taxpayers about the true cost of net zero, says Tim Focas Here we go again – it didn’t take long did it. The new government, with Ed Miliband at the helm of energy [...]
Fiscal prudence? The iron chancellor doth protest too much July 24, 2024 Rachel Reeves’ decision to expand the powers of the OBR suggests apprehension, not confidence, writes Tim Focas. Rachel Reeves has promised to be an “iron chancellor” embodying fiscal constraint and discipline. Yet, her first legislative move to enhance the powers of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) raises questions about her own confidence in living [...]
It’ll take more than a big screen to revive the London Stock Exchange June 13, 2024 A live market screen in Paternoster Square is no substitute for the cultural and regulatory reforms we need to get companies listing in London, says Tim Focas In what seems like a desperate attempt to breathe new life into London’s equity market, London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) CEO Julia Hoggett has proposed installing a live [...]
