As Donald Trump pulls ahead in the presidential race, will 2016 be seen as the high water mark for globalisation? July 25, 2016 John Bew, professor at the war studies department at King’s College, London and lead of the Britain in the World project at Policy Exchange, says Yes. The world has never been more interconnected but globalisation has not been the happy process that many presumed. Potent forces like nationalism, ethnic rivalry and religious sectarianism are making a comeback. [...]
Head to Italy for this summer’s Eurozone crisis July 25, 2016 It wouldn't be summer without a crisis in the Eurozone and, following the UK’s vote to leave the European Union, we are likely to have a second, this time with an Italian flavour. Italy’s banks were once the foundation of the modern banking system – but now, weighed down by bad debts and a dismal [...]
Labour’s in a hole and it just keeps digging July 25, 2016 This is the time of year when the City starts to feel a little quieter. Indeed, the desire to find a bit of post-referendum down-time is likely proving irresistible. But spare a thought for one group of people who are already dreading the return to work: Labour MPs. Their party will spend the summer locked [...]
The Anglosphere is Britain’s past, present and future: Let’s embrace it post-Brexit July 25, 2016 Sometimes things are so much simpler than they seem. I had one such moment in Warsaw, not long after Poland’s accession to Nato. To a man, the Polish elite were particularly insistent on making every American aware of how much they valued being in the alliance, but they obviously wanted something more. A number of my [...]
The UK faces two critical trade-offs in determining its future EU relationship July 25, 2016 It is now D day +32 and the country has experienced an unprecedented period of political change, along with significant uncertainty about Britain’s future relationship with the EU and the rest of the world. On the positive side, few countries could achieve such a change of government so smoothly. But now that the initial emotions from the [...]
Sir Philip Green ran BHS like a medieval fiefdom: Now his reputation hangs by a thread July 25, 2016 Our new Prime Minister has promised to get “tough on irresponsible behaviour in big business”. The report today of our joint Select Committee on the collapse of BHS offers a case study of what can go wrong at a company almost 90 years old and why she is right that government must react. After over [...]
As the chancellor plans a policy “reset”, would jettisoning austerity be grossly irresponsible? July 25, 2016 Dr Madsen Pirie, president of the Adam Smith Institute, says Yes. The economies that have emerged best from the financial crisis are those that have combined curbing spending with having a looser monetary policy. Those that have sought to cut back spending while also providing a stimulus have prospered, and have bounced back faster than those [...]
Prepare for the augmented reality workplace: The tech behind Pokemon Go will be in offices sooner than you think July 25, 2016 With the launch of Pokémon Go in the UK this month, augmented reality (AR) – the technology behind the game – has successfully broken into the mass-consumer market. But right now very few people are thinking about the applications of the technology beyond the world of gaming. Our 2016 Tech Trends research reveals that the biggest [...]
Get the corkscrew: Now is the time to flex your alternative investment muscle and buy up fine wine July 22, 2016 It's hard to believe it's only been a month since the EU referendum. Around £2 trillion was wiped off the value of global markets within a fortnight, the pound has fallen to its lowest point in three decades and British politics has descended into a virtual musical chairs, transforming in the process. The investors who [...]
Unilever’s razor sharp move in buying Dollar Shave Club is a major shift in how brands sell to customers July 22, 2016 Unilever wowed the markets on Wednesday when it unveiled a surprise acquisition of razor subscription brand Dollar Shave Club (DSC) for a reported $1bn. DSC's buyout by the consumer goods giant not only demonstrates the huge success the brand has achieved since launching in 2011 (and then going viral with a video marketing campaign in 2012), but also the credibility [...]