US transparency over state surveillance puts British efforts to shame June 1, 2015 Two very different stories are being played out on each side of the Atlantic on the subject of government surveillance. In the United States, intrusive powers permitted under the Patriot Act were allowed to expire on Sunday evening, after the libertarian senator Rand Paul used procedural objections in the US Senate to delay the passage [...]
As the Tories pledge more free childcare, is this the answer to excessively high costs? June 1, 2015 Sam Gyimah MP, minister for childcare and early years, says Yes Childcare is important because it significantly impacts family finances and people’s ability to work, and make work pay. It’s also important for the child, because high-quality early education is key to having the best start in life. The government has a role in effectively [...]
Fifa corruption: What businesses can learn about the need for cultural change, rather than blaming individuals June 1, 2015 Whenever a large organisation gets into public trouble, the search for a scapegoat begins and the organisations are often relived to serve one up. Institutional illegality is all very well, but it does not appear to be interesting until we can put a face to the crime and a name to the nastiness. After [...]
How economic prosperity led Ireland to overturn centuries of conservatism with same-sex marriage vote May 31, 2015 Before the tide of euphoria passes, it is worth thinking back a moment on what the overwhelming vote in Ireland in favour of same-sex marriage actually means. This traditional, close-knit country, dominated for centuries by the socially conservative Catholic Church, seems at first glance an unlikely location for global social advances. Yet by approving a [...]
Why companies have a public duty to publish their Brexit risk assessments May 31, 2015 A “Top-secret taskforce” always makes for a good headline, and “news” that the Bank of England has just such a unit to look at Brexit was discussed with glee. Headline-grabbing as it may be, it would truly be far more extraordinary if the Bank (or Deutsche Bank, which made similar waves by announcing its own [...]
Tax Freedom Day has come: You’re finally working for yourself May 31, 2015 Congratulations – you, and the rest of the UK, have collectively paid off your taxes for the year, and it only took you 150 days to do it. Every year, the Adam Smith Institute calculates Tax Freedom Day – the first day of the year when the average person stops working for the government [...]
With no deal on the cards, is the Eurozone too complacent about the risks Grexit poses? May 31, 2015 Guy Foster, group head of research at Brewin Dolphin, says Yes. It’s difficult to tell how complacent the Eurogroup really is about the risks of Grexit, as its rhetoric forms part of the negotiations. Both parties are citing a Grexit as their best alternative to a negotiated agreement. Their respective hands are strengthened as it [...]
The London Powerhouse: Universities are at the heart of the capital’s success May 28, 2015 Dreaming spires and cloistered courtyards: the image of Oxbridge has for centuries defined excellence in Britain’s global higher education offering. But in the twenty-first century, it is London’s elite universities that are tearing up the script. Last September, Imperial College shared second place with Cambridge in the QS World University Rankings, with Harvard just [...]
Nigeria’s new President Muhammadu Buhari promises to supercharge the African economic giant May 28, 2015 Criticism of Nigeria as a place to do business is widespread but misplaced. The scaremongers say that the country is unstable, with a crumbling economy and threats from terrorist groups. They point to oil shortages, collapsing crude prices, the ferocity of the Boko Haram terrorist group, and rampant corruption. But these snapshots do not paint [...]
Cheap money: Reports of the death of cash have been greatly exaggerated May 28, 2015 A landmark proposal has seen the Danish government consider ending the obligation of retailers to accept cash, a global first, with the implication that paper notes and coins could soon lose their grip on their status as legal tender. Figures from the Payments Council released last week, meanwhile, showed that cashless transactions have overtaken the [...]