Ukraine’s crisis sits on a knife edge as protest morphs into revolution February 20, 2014 THERE is almost nothing more difficult for a political risk analyst than assessing the dynamics of a revolution, a situation in which long-held conventional wisdom can be upended in a matter of minutes. For only one question matters in Kiev today: what is the likely end game for Ukraine, and how do we get there? [...]
Letters to the Editor – 21/02 – Wasted Parliament, Best of Twitter February 20, 2014 Wasted Parliament [Re: Has the government now missed its chance to repair Britain’s public finances? Wednesday] Dominic Raab is wrong to say that it is “churlish to underestimate the challenge of turning around the economic mess inherited in 2010”. It would have helped if this government had actually done something to cut back the state, [...]
Why Facebook’s $19bn Whatsapp purchase makes complete sense February 20, 2014 Facebook's staggering $19bn (£11.4bn) payment for instant messaging service Whatsapp has knocked many market watchers over. Those numbers see the startup of just 55 employees valued at more than Marriot International, American Airlines, or Ralph Lauren. But Facebook isn't here for Whatsapp's lame profitability – it charges users $0.99 just once a year – it [...]
Indecisive Europe is acting too late to save Ukraine from Kremlin discipline February 19, 2014 LIKE a slow-motion car wreck, the tragic violence that has erupted in Ukraine over the last few days – which some fear could result in bloody civil war – has been inexorably coming for some time. In November 2013, the country’s President Viktor Yanukovych abruptly broke off talks with the EU over a political and [...]
Against the Grain: What Italy and France should really learn about German economic resilience February 19, 2014 IT’S EASY to forget that Germany was once seen as the Sick Man of Europe. Between 1991 and 2005, its GDP growth averaged only 1.2 per cent a year, compared to 3.3 per cent in the UK. Since then, of course, the German economy has revived dramatically. The recovery in the German cluster of economies [...]
Banks face mega fines as Britain imports US style corporate justice February 19, 2014 UNDER the headlines “Bank Robbery” and “Uncle Scam”, there was a stormy reaction to the largest settlement ever between the US government and a corporation – JP Morgan’s $13bn (£7.7bn) November 2013 pay-out over the mis-selling of mortgage securities. But penalties of this size may not be peculiar to the US for long. Britain’s adoption [...]
Letters to the Editor – 20/02 – Scots currency, Best of Twitter February 19, 2014 Scots currency [Re: Could fears over their future currency sway the Scottish people against independence?, Tuesday] The three main Westminster parties have ruled out a currency union with an independent Scotland. But the stability of sterling and access to the UK and EU markets are vital to support continued confidence in the Scottish business community. [...]
The small state game changer: We can transform Britain forever in four stages February 18, 2014 HOW DO you fashion a small state when there’s a huge deficit and a majority of the political and media class howl at the mere suggestion of less public spending? The chancellor’s answer is to slowly reduce public spending towards 40 per cent of GDP, and his Budget next month is unlikely to deviate from [...]
How the chancellor could unleash the potential of manufacturing exporters February 18, 2014 WITH A general election approaching, I am not expecting the chancellor’s Budget on 19 March to raise many eyebrows. All political parties are likely to keep the potential vote winners in reserve for their manifestos and the campaign itself. There may be moves to address the cost of living pressures many UK voters still face [...]
A mansion tax would be equivalent to feasting on our economy’s seed corn February 18, 2014 THE CHANCELLOR has a problem. People do not much like paying taxes, yet there is rising demand for welfare and state services, and politicians fear taking the tough decisions needed to reallocate spending. Into this unenviable situation steps the worst of all possible solutions: the wealth tax. The total UK tax take has been remarkably [...]