Why the European Union is no friend of innovation January 4, 2016 The story of the e-cigarette ought to feature as a case study in every economics class and every business studies textbook on every campus in the land. It's a story containing all the forces that shape market economics and enterprising endeavours. The e-cig first emerged in response to changing social and regulatory conditions, as tobacco [...]
The end of the West: 2016 is the year a new order begins to arise January 4, 2016 “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” Churchill, after the British victory at El Alamein This year will make it apparent to all but the most gormless that the comfortable, easy centuries of western dominance (under the Dutch, [...]
Skills shortages, EU uncertainty, and a rate rise before the summer: What to expect from 2016 economics January 4, 2016 The UK economy is in a period of steady growth and low inflation which should continue in 2016. Economic growth this year should be around 2.5 per cent – very respectable in the post-crisis New Normal, keeping us close to the top of the G7 growth league along with the United States. Unemployment is likely [...]
The three critical decisions facing Londoners in 2016 January 4, 2016 With Christmas now behind us, City workers are returning to their desks for what will be a challenging and exciting year. January is only just beginning, but one thing is already clear: this is a year in which we will all need to hit the ground running. This year we will have to make several [...]
Will Jeremy Corbyn still be Labour leader by the end of 2016? January 4, 2016 Chris Rumfitt, founder and chief executive of Field Consulting, says No. Thursday 5 May is the day on which the scales will fall from the eyes of Labour members. It is then that Jeremy Corbyn’s popularity will be tested properly for the first time, with elections in Scotland, London and for local councils across England. [...]
Christmas quiz 2015: How much do you remember of the year in business, politics and economics? December 23, 2015 Deloitte chief economist Ian Stewart asks some of the trickiest business, politics and economics questions of the year. Answers can be found below. 1 According to the OECD, Mexicans work the longest hours. In 2014, the average Mexican worker put in 2,228 hours, equivalent to a 43-hour working week with no holidays. Which country’s workers [...]
There’s nothing new in the Uber vs Taxi debate December 23, 2015 As the year draws to an end, so too might a raging battle on the capital’s streets inch towards a conclusion with the culmination of a Transport for London consultation on the future of the city’s private hire industry. Elements of the traditional black cab industry have been at war with Uber since the American [...]
A Christmas competition with a difference – and the chance to win a bottle of champagne December 22, 2015 For the prolonged holiday break, a quiz is appropriate. But one with a difference: not just questions, but comments to go with them. A prize of a bottle of champagne to the best answers – just email them to me. The last couple of years have seen the rise of populist left-wing movements. Syriza [...]
End of the Delaware flip: Why US investors are targeting UK startups December 22, 2015 Pfizer's record-breaking $160bn deal to take over the Irish pharmaceutical company Allergan, which will result in the former becoming an Irish company, has been attacked in the US as “unpatriotic”. However, it also highlights the increasingly compelling advantages to basing high-growth technology and life sciences businesses in the UK and Ireland. US venture capitalists have [...]
Mayoral hopeful Zac Goldsmith can’t afford to ignore the City for ever December 22, 2015 The two leading candidates to replace Boris Johnson as mayor of London squared off earlier this month at a dinner hosted by the Federation of Small Businesses. Both Labour candidate Sadiq Khan and Conservative contender Zac Goldsmith took to the podium to appeal to an audience of the capital’s leading business figures, with Khan stressing [...]