Sick-man France’s economic reform failures risk restarting the Eurozone crisis April 29, 2016 Although Britain had its own strike this week, this time by junior doctors, spare a thought for the French public who once again faced widespread industrial action yesterday. A strike was held over proposed reforms to France’s employment rules. Reform is desperately needed. Employment protection in France is higher than in any other major western economy, [...]
As SpaceX says it intends to send a mission to Mars by 2018, does space travel now belong to the private sector? April 29, 2016 Dan Lewis, senior infrastructure policy adviser at the Institute of Directors, says Yes. Gone are the days when space was the playground of the Cold War superpowers. As launch costs tumble, it is increasingly a market democracy. Twice as many people have bought tickets for Virgin Galactic and Xcor as have been put in space by [...]
Why London’s position as UK centre for business and finance is under threat April 28, 2016 London stands as not only the symbolic centre of our country, but as the epicentre of the UK’s business and finance activities. However, recent analysis by Sungard of government and third party data has found that the capital’s position is coming under threat: in a ranking of ten of the UK’s major cities across a wide range [...]
Not so much revolution as boardroom evolution April 28, 2016 We may not be in the throes of a full-on shareholder spring – as happened back in 2012 – but investors are definitely flexing their muscles. They railed against generous executive pay packages at BP and Anglo American (with 59 per cent and 42 per cent rejecting the remuneration deals, respectively), while smaller double-digit rebellions have [...]
Why I’ll be voting to leave the costly, dysfunctional and bureaucratic EU April 28, 2016 Let me start with an admission. I love Europe. I love its food, culture and heritage. It is a continent I love to visit and do business with. But Europe is being torn apart by the European Union. Its two big political projects are in crisis. The euro has left national governments with huge debts and [...]
Corbyn-backing Sadiq Khan would be a disaster for London’s thriving economy April 28, 2016 When it comes to business, London’s mayoral election matters for the whole country. Britain’s economy is deeply interconnected. A startup in Bristol will hire a design agency in Soho to help them market their product online; a Leeds manufacturer will draw on finance and legal advice from firms in the City. For better or for [...]
The junior doctors’ strike is a symptom of politicians’ failure to embrace real public sector reform April 28, 2016 Tom Bower’s recently published biography of Tony Blair is fascinating. Not because of any sensational revelations, but rather because of the relentless narrative describing the failure of politicians and senior civil servants to understand how to make public services work more efficiently, or indeed how an economy really works at all. They simply didn’t get [...]
As UK growth slows to 0.4 per cent in the first quarter, is George Osborne right to blame it on the EU referendum? April 28, 2016 Scott Corfe, director at the Centre for Economics and Business Research, says Yes. Our business survey research shows that companies have reined in capital spending plans amid all the uncertainty over Brexit. This is particularly the case for large businesses, and we are likely to see some weak investment figures in the first half of this [...]
The OECD’s warning over Brexit is totally twisting the figures April 27, 2016 The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has just given us its considered opinion on the likely costs of Brexit. And as the more canny Scots like to insist about the English, we should perhaps send them home to think again. For what its done in presenting their numbers is one of those near unpardonable statistical sins. [...]
Rivals set to win customers on back of BHS’ demise April 27, 2016 BHS has entered administration, confirming what I have previously written about in this column; its loyal customers have deserted it in recent years. Although BHS will continue to trade while a buyer is sought, the retailer has been in trouble for some time as it failed to modernise its offering. It has been losing market [...]