Political risk is a global threat to recovery March 25, 2012 IN a tentative recovery, everyone always looks for the next nasty shock that could spring up and derail growth. The answer this time is political risk – all over the world. We all know about the geo-political tensions in the Middle East that sent Brent over $126 earlier this month. But in a year heavy [...]
Economic confidence improving again March 19, 2012 DON’T say it too loudly – but the economy appears to have gained traction again. An interesting new gauge suggests that confidence and activity are making a strong recovery. Coming a day before George Osborne delivers his Budget, this is decent news for the chancellor, though any rebound in GDP will most likely be modest. [...]
Warning against giveaways March 18, 2012 THE GOVERNMENT cannot afford to make big Budget giveaways this week and must focus on reducing its huge annual deficit, two leading business and economic groups have said. “I don’t think the country can afford significant tax cuts if it really wants growth,” Confederation of British Industry (CBI) chief John Cridland told the BBC yesterday. [...]
The City can help us to put a spring in our step March 18, 2012 WITH only a few days to go until the chancellor reveals the Budget for 2012, the nation’s business community will be hoping that this March stays true to the message of spring, bringing reinvigoration and new growth. While the grip of the economic downturn has remained firm, the government has had to focus on slowing [...]
REACH for the SKIES February 16, 2012 THE meaning of value is hard to pin down. You’ve got perceived value versus actual value, for starters, and then the problem that one man’s tripe is another man’s caviar. One of the few things we can all agree on though, is that there is value in usefulness. Usefulness is reassuringly tangible. A car is [...]
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Twee February 16, 2012 Film EXTREMELY LOUD & INCREDIBLY CLOSE Cert: 12A ** by Steve Dinneen Tragedy can have a powerful effect on popular culture, be it on a local scale (the Smiths singing about the Moors murders; Terrence Malick’s Badlands on the Starkweather-Fugate killing spree) or as a reaction to global events (Japanese Manga’s fixation on nuclear holocaust; [...]
I’m not waiting for graduation to find recruits February 15, 2012 YESTERDAY’S unemployment figures show that over 1m 16-24 year olds are still unemployed. With university fees rising and continued uncertainty in the global economy, how are we going to be able to help our young people enter the workforce and begin their careers in meaningful roles? I believe there is a simple solution companies can [...]
San Fran Fed wants fiscal boost January 10, 2012 Tax and spending policies must be changed to boost the US economy, John Williams, president of the San Francisco Fed, said yesterday. Moves to control the budget deficit “are essential in the long run” but are “damping the economy, not boosting it” currently, he said. Williams praised the steps the Fed has taken to loosen [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 5, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES NEW CLASHES BREW OVER TOBIN TAX Britain and France are set for another European clash as Paris attempts to frame a new Eurozone financial transaction tax in a way that is likely to have a significant impact on the City of London. President Nicolas Sarkozy of France wants to include the so-called Tobin [...]
2011 saw an Arab Spring and the euro in crisis – get ready for even more drama in 2012 December 19, 2011 IT’S been quite a year: the Eurozone is in crisis and the US lost its AAA credit rating from S&P. But economists warn that next year could be worse. There might be a repeat of 2008 – a credit crunch and another recession. Worse, the head of the IMF Christine Lagarde warns of a “lost [...]