All aboard! The banking rollercoaster ride is here April 27, 2016 The UK’s banks have been on a rollercoaster ride since the dark days of the credit crunch in 2008, from PPI mis-selling to Libor and the Forex scandal. Recent woes include market volatility, capital buffers and low interest rates depressing margins. As first quarter reporting season kicks off with Barclays today, some good news at [...]
Hidden fees are a stealth tax on all our savings: This is no free market April 27, 2016 Do you know how much your pension costs? How much the folk looking after your money are charging you? No? It’s not easy to find out. I didn’t until I demanded the information. It wasn’t just the management fee they’d advertised but many times that. Small percentages that really added up. I became suspicious when I received [...]
Retirement is popular – but surviving the pensions crisis means encouraging work April 27, 2016 The Queen’s 90th birthday quite rightly dominated the media last week. Her Majesty continues to break all sorts of records, spending longer on the throne than Queen Victoria and being our oldest ever reigning monarch. But longevity should no longer give cause for surprise. The oldest participant in the London Marathon this year was 88, [...]
Why Brexit could spell trouble for Berkeley Group if foreign investors abandon London April 27, 2016 Berkeley Homes produces some of the most desirable goods in the UK. Building high-end houses and apartments chiefly in London, this well-managed company has delivered impressive profit margins and sustained growth. To explain this success, many would point to London’s chronic housing shortage. Annual demand is typically estimated at 50,000 homes by industry commentators. In [...]
Is Sir Philip Green being unfairly criticised over the collapse of BHS – and its £571m pensions black hole? April 27, 2016 Tim Worstall, senior fellow of the Adam Smith Institute, says Yes. It’s not difficult to believe that Sir Philip Green is being unfairly treated over the BHS saga. The unedifying sight of the British establishment sneering at the loudmouth Jew in the clothing trade is an unwelcome return to social habits we rather hoped we had [...]
It’s wrong to dismiss Jersey as a secretive and sinister “tax haven”: We are world leaders in transparency and in combating financial crime April 27, 2016 Since the Panama Papers, the “offshore industry” has been in a media storm which has questioned the relevance, role and morality of international financial centres (IFCs) collectively. Much has been written about how to bring these “secretive” jurisdictions to heel and to flush out the illicit practices that they allegedly shelter. There have also been [...]
The return of the supersonic brand and designing flights of the future April 26, 2016 The new generation of supersonic planes could defy all design conventions. Concorde may be long retired from the skies but the romance and excitement of supersonic travel lives on, a new age of aviation is now on the horizon. Earlier this month, NASA announced it is developing a range of supersonic ‘X-planes’ that could ultimately lead to [...]
Women on boards: Could creating a Female Stock Exchange be a way to redress the balance? April 26, 2016 Frustrated by the FTSE 350’s “one step forward, two steps back” progress towards getting more women on boards, I’ve had an idea. Why not create a Female Stock Exchange dedicated to helping companies run by or for women to raise finance and grow? Let’s face it, thanks to uncertainty over Brexit, the City is already in flux, a [...]
London housing crisis: Before you dismiss it, consider these six points that put the Greenbelt controversy into context April 26, 2016 Without a doubt, the UK housing crisis is most acute in the capital. Not a day goes by without a story on prices, the need for housing, or how to/ where to/ why to build more homes in London. Most recently, an old, controversial topic was re-introduced – building homes on the Greenbelt. The context for this debate is [...]
Now BHS is in administration, the bidders are circling – but wouldn’t it be wiser to let it die with dignity? April 26, 2016 After the sale of BHS by Sir Philip Green to the previously unheard-of Retail Acquisitions last year, it was only a matter of time before we reached this point. Bought for £1 because of the heavy debt and pensions liabilities, too much work was needed for the 88-year-old retailer to find its footing again. Even [...]