New lockdown guidance gets widespread approval in Westminster June 23, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announcement today that the two metre social distancing will be scrapped in favour of new “one metre-plus” guidance from 4 July was met with widespread approval from Westminster, as the public prepares to revitalise the British economy after months of lockdown. Business Ministers welcomed the new guidance as providing a lifeline [...]
Tax system to the rescue: Six policy tweaks that could kickstart the economy June 23, 2020 The past three months have seen a deluge of economic, political, and legal moves that would have been unthinkable at the start of the year. As civil liberties were curtailed on a scale never seen in peacetime and ten million children were turned away from school, new hospitals were built in a matter of weeks, [...]
“Go back to basics”: valuations during COVID-19 June 23, 2020 Aswath Damodaran had some advice for the audience at the 73rd CFA Institute Annual Virtual Conference: don’t abandon valuation fundamentals during the coronavirus crisis. “It is precisely times like these that matter most,” said Damodaran, who is the Kerschner Family Chair Professor of Finance at the Stern School of Business at New York University. “You [...]
BoE’s Bailey: Jobs data could scupper UK economy’s coronavirus recovery June 18, 2020 The UK economy is recovering slightly quicker than the Bank of England expected a month ago as the coronavirus lockdown is eased, but news from the labour market is mostly negative, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey said. “As partial lifting of the measures takes place, we see signs of some activity returning,” Bailey said [...]
Welcome to the blended office June 17, 2020 Since the scribes of ancient kings worked together under a sunshade, we have had offices. Offices survived the Black Death, the Red Death, Spanish Flu, and Ricky Gervais. Offices aren’t about to disappear — but they may now be changing more than ever before. We should be ready for change, but do not be surprised [...]
BBC to show more repeats amid “tough period” for the broadcaster June 16, 2020 The BBC has said it will show more repeats over the summer and output will be “thinner” over the next year after the coronavirus pandemic forced the broadcaster to scrap its filming schedule. Speaking to ministers at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) select committee hearing today, senior executives said the BBC [...]
MPs call for total ban on gambling adverts ahead of Premier League restart June 15, 2020 A group of more than 50 MPs and peers has called for a total ban on gambling adverts in a new report that urges for a wide-scale overhaul of British gambling laws. In a report set to be published tomorrow, a cross-party group of MPs will urge the government to enforce tighter controls on the [...]
We now have a unique opportunity to end rough sleeping in London for good June 13, 2020 Where do we go from here? It’s a question many of us are asking ourselves, as lockdown measures are gradually eased and we start to move from dealing with the day-to-day impact of the pandemic to looking towards the longer-term future. For the nearly 1,400 rough sleepers who have been accommodated in London hotels, paid [...]
ECB may expand bond buying in future but no need yet, says board member June 10, 2020 The European Central Bank (ECB) may expand its crisis-fighting toolkit in the future but is not planning to do so imminently, a board member said, playing down the possibility of the central bank buying bonds issued by banks or by junk-rated companies. The ECB last week boosted its Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme to €1.35 trillion [...]
Let the economy reboot itself June 10, 2020 How can the government best support the UK’s economic recovery after the crushing impact of the pandemic? Today, the Institute of Economic Affairs and Civitas are publishing a joint report on the economics of the Covid-19 crisis, written by Professor Len Shackleton and myself. Many are arguing that the crisis has demonstrated the need for [...]