The end of an illusion: What Boris Nemtsov’s murder means for the international community March 14, 2015 On February 27, Boris Nemtsov, the Russian statesman, physicist, and outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was executed by unknown assailants just outside Moscow’s Red Square. A liberal reformer, Nemtsov was a key figure in the introduction of capitalism to post-Soviet Russia. He was also seen as a uniting figure, someone who could bring [...]
Saudi Arabia won’t cut production – because it knows the oil age is ending March 12, 2015 There have been many explanations, including on these pages, for why Saudi Arabia has not cut production to shore up the price of oil. These range from the use of the oil price as a foreign policy weapon – whether to wage economic war against rivals Iran, or to help their US allies bring Russia [...]
Apprenticeship Week: We can celebrate a revolution in the UK’s skills market March 12, 2015 As many of us look forward to the weekend, I’m here reflecting on the eighth National Apprenticeship Week and the hundreds of events that have taken place across the capital, recognising how apprenticeships have transformed the skills market in the UK. As the mayor’s ambassador for training and enterprise, and as head of emerging talent [...]
As MPs say UK surveillance lacks transparency, should we be worried about being snooped on? March 12, 2015 Jim Killock is executive director of Open Rights Group, says Yes Yes, we should be worried. If you run a business, have commercial secrets, or rely on secure communications like VPNs, there is a lot to be concerned about. UK data is shared with the US so there is little protection for your political or [...]
Mipim 2015: Tech takes its toll on the property sector March 12, 2015 I was up early on the third day of Mipim to chair a panel of Sir Eddie Lister, chief of staff at the Greater London Authority; Sir Howard Bernstein, chief executive of Manchester City Council; and Bernstein's counterpart in Birmingham, Mark Rogers, all of whom made a powerful case for further devolution of power to [...]
Mega-city London will fall behind New York without a radical plan for growth March 11, 2015 At last, a real sense of urgency is starting to define the debate surrounding the future of London. As chancellor George Osborne and mayor Boris Johnson warned in their recent Long Term Economic Plan for London, the capital risks losing its leading status as a pre-eminent global city unless action is taken to plan for [...]
2015 General Election TV debates: Broadcasters won’t empty chair David Cameron – they’ve good commercial reasons not to March 11, 2015 The extended row over the proposed TV election debates has reached a deadlock. David Cameron has said he will take part in just one, but the broadcasters (supported by Tory opponents) are committed to running three. What will break this impasse? In my view, commercial factors will force the UK’s broadcasters to give up their [...]
Why transparency over pay is vital if we’re to reach gender equality March 11, 2015 Good news can sometimes feel like a rarity, but recent PwC data shows that the UK has improved its position in an international league table of female participation in the workplace, moving up four places to fourteenth in a ranking of the 27 OECD economies. It’s a welcome improvement, but there is still some way [...]
As the euro hits a 12-year low against the dollar, is a weak currency positive for the Eurozone? March 11, 2015 Danae Kyriakopoulou is an economist at the CEBR, says Yes As far as economic silver bullets go, a sharp depreciation in currency, when economies are suffering from both slow growth and dangerously low inflation, is a pretty good candidate. A weaker euro makes Eurozone products cheaper, both abroad and at home (where they compete with [...]
Isolated like North Korea? No. The UK has plenty of allies and will achieve success after Brexit March 11, 2015 The claim made by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown that outside the EU the UK would be “the North Korea of Europe” is ignoring the facts – and Britain’s potential. Unlike North Korea, the UK has a large number of global alliances and partners. It had these before the creation of the EU and it [...]