Libor and forex scandals: Banks admit they are “puzzled” over how to stop rate fixing September 9, 2014 Banks and regulators have still not found a way to be sure of stopping traders from manipulating Libor, foreign exchange and other benchmarks, top watchdog Martin Wheatley said yesterday. More than two years on from the first bank fine over attempted Libor fiddling, the new setup for benchmark regulation is yet to be finalised. “I [...]
How incompetent policymakers have kept the Eurozone in perpetual crisis September 9, 2014 THE EUROZONE lurches into yet another crisis, with fears of deflation and a further drop in output. There are several dominant explanations as to why Europe has been unable to recover from the crisis. Depending on their tastes, most commentators subscribe to them either on their own, or in various combinations. One puts the blame [...]
Save money on your overseas transfers and payments September 4, 2014 With an expanding expat community (6 million British citizens reside overseas, by the last count) and a diverse population with global connections at home more Brits than ever before are finding it necessary to send money overseas. According to the World Bank the equivalent of more than $23 billion was transferred out of the UK [...]
Scottish independence: That WEF report could boost Salmond’s plans to keep the pound September 3, 2014 Most of the UK media attention given to the new World Economic Forum (WEF) rankings has been focused on Britain edging up one place to take spot number nine for global competitiveness. However, there may be more to glean from the WEF's report than the UK's marginal improvement in competitiveness. Specifically, the WEF's rankings on [...]
Airport expansion is vital for London’s prosperity – but politicians still do nothing September 1, 2014 WITH the Airports Commission widely tipped to make an announcement about Boris Johnson’s Estuary airport proposal today, it is important we take stock of what is at stake. The airports debate is about more than where to put extra planes and runways: it’s about jobs, growth and our country’s future prosperity. International connectivity is fundamental [...]
UK’s industrial firms named as regional stars of world’s manufacturing sector August 18, 2014 UK factories are in a sweet spot, according to a report on global industrial conditions released this morning, with companies re-shoring to an increasingly competitive UK manufacturing sector. The Boston Consulting Group released research on the state of the world’s manufacturing sector this morning, calling the UK a “rising regional star”. The authors also say [...]
SSE calls for one national cost to deliver energy August 14, 2014 ENERGY giant SSE yesterday called for a shake-up of electricity transportation costs that could result in higher bills for some customers. The FTSE 100-quoted firm said it planned to examine “whether the different regional costs of transporting electricity could be passed on to suppliers as one national charge”. The cost of delivering electricity to different [...]
E.On UK supply profits dive due to mild weather August 13, 2014 German energy giant E.On’s UK subsidiary yesterday posted a 31 per cent drop in first-half profit for its supply arm – but its generation earnings rose by the same percentage. The warmer weather lowered demand for energy, causing revenue from the supply part of the business to fall 9.7 per cent to £3.95bn over the [...]
Ofgem: Energy market probe will not be whitewashed August 10, 2014 Questions raised over regulator’s influence in energy probe. Energy watchdog Ofgem has been forced to defend itself after five former regulators warned it may unfairly influence an independent investigation into the sector. Well-known industry figures including Stephen Littlechild and Sir Callum McCarthy have written a letter to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which recently [...]
London has nothing to fear from leaving the EU – but much to gain August 6, 2014 THE EUROPE Report: A win-win situation, authored by Boris Johnson’s chief economic adviser Dr Gerard Lyons and released yesterday, is a major contribution to the “in/out” EU debate – a debate that will simply not go away. I welcome its measured, positive and undogmatic analysis of the main scenarios facing Britain and our relationship with [...]