The Mints are falling apart: It’s time to reassess our view of emerging markets January 26, 2014 TO PARAPHRASE Antony in Julius Caesar, I come to bury the Mints idea, not to praise it. True, as with its Brics ancestor, former Goldman Sachs Asset Management head Jim O’Neill has hit upon something vitally important by identifying Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey as future economic giants. With the Brics, it was that the [...]
City Matters: Social impact investing: The City must embrace a future of philanthropy January 26, 2014 THE CITY has always been a crucible for debate, innovation and philanthropy. All three are crucial as we strive to rise to the complex challenges posed by the “new normal” – a fast-developing globalised world where resources are increasingly scarce and in demand. I am particularly keen to draw upon the City’s energy, expertise and [...]
SSE posts 8.8 per cent rise in profits – if you look very closely January 23, 2014 Big six energy supplier SSE said it expects profits to rise to £1.54bn this year, mere months after pushing customers’ bills up 8.2 per cent. This equates to an 8.8 per cent increase in pre-tax profits, despite SSE losing 250,000 customers in the nine months to 31 December 2013. The profit forecast was slipped in [...]
Npower names and shames UK’s poshest postcodes as biggest energy wasters January 22, 2014 Npower’s chief executive Paul Massara has been given a hard time today after saying that the UK’s inefficient "old and draughty" houses mean "bills are high because [they] waste so much energy". The comments are part and parcel of a 14-page document on how to reduce bills by the Big Six company, which rival Ofgem [...]
Watchdog hits back over claims from Npower January 21, 2014 REGULATOR Ofgem today blasted Npower’s breakdown of energy bills, calling its data on network costs “incorrect and misleading”. The big six firm’s new report said that energy network distribution costs would rise by 22.7 per cent between 2013 and 2020, adding £58 on to the average annual duel-fuel bill. “Suppliers control less than 20 per [...]
Smaller energy firms reap the rewards after switching soars January 20, 2014 THE NUMBER of energy customers looking for cheaper deals soared at the end of last year, with around 1m people switching energy suppliers over November and December. In contrast, around 208,000 people switched in September and 3m switched over the entire year, according to research from data company Electralink. The figures showed that 230,000 of [...]
Smaller energy firms reap the rewards as switching soars January 20, 2014 The number of energy customers looking for cheaper deals soared at the end of last year, with around one million people switching energy suppliers over November and December. In contrast, around 208,000 people switched in September and 3m switched over the entire year, according to research from data company Electralink. 230,000 of those switching in [...]
Germany falls out of love with renewable energy January 20, 2014 Germany is planning to cut its renewable energy subsidies by up to a third by 2015, according to plans from the minister of economics and energy Sigmar Gabriel. Under the draft proposals the feed-in tariffs paid to renewable power generators will be slashed to an average of €0.12 per kilowatt hour (kWh) by 2015 from [...]
The 10 biggest challenges facing small businesses in 2014 January 20, 2014 Business confidence blossomed at the end of 2013, and things have got off to a good start for firms this year too. Figures from the British Chambers of Commerce showed that confidence in a broad-based UK recovery is growing, and net optimism flew to 71 per cent at the end of the year. When it [...]
Letters to the Editor – 17/01 – Readers respond to our criticism of France’s failed socialist experiment January 16, 2014 Although I now live in China, I worked in France for 26 years, and have a lot of affection for the country and its people. Like Allister Heath, I feel sad to see the country going down the drain because it cannot rid itself of socialist dogma. The problem is that France is paralysed by [...]