2013 Christmas quiz: Test your knowledge December 19, 2013 Ian Stewart, Deloitte’s chief economist, poses the trickiest economics questions of the year 1. Between spring and autumn 2013, which of these countries received the largest upgrade to its 2013 GDP growth forecast from the IMF? a. Indiab. United Statesc. United Kingdom 2. Which luxury asset class saw the biggest increase in value between 2003 [...]
The Long View: Celebrate your festive commercialism – it’s an act of love in a free society December 19, 2013 IT’S A SHAME all the shopping has to spoil the true meaning of Christmas. Or so we get told at this time of year, usually by the same prophets of good cheer who want us to celebrate the season by donning hair shirts and cutting back on the booze. How wrong they are. And how [...]
Don’t let the Christmas curmudgeons dampen your holiday hedonism December 19, 2013 CHRISTMAS has become a magnet for miserabilists. Those sections of society that make a living from fretting over what the rest of us are eating, drinking and doing in our bedrooms are drawn to Christmas like moths to light, spying an opportunity to hector us about our gluttony and hedonism. It’s got to the stage [...]
Letters to the Editor – 20/12 – Cashless society, Tech teaching, Best of Twitter December 19, 2013 Cashless society [Re: With plastic banknotes set to arrive in 2016, will cash soon disappear entirely anyway?, yesterday] I agree that we are moving towards a cashless future. Not only have credit and debit cards already largely taken over from cash (the average consumer now carries just £20 in cash), but our forecasts show that [...]
Government is making high streets suffer and the situation may worsen December 18, 2013 WHATEVER the chances of a last-minute Christmas shopping spree, the retail climate remains difficult. To assist troubled high streets, the chancellor’s Autumn Statement appeared to make a valiant effort to address complaints about business rates, long resented as an excessive tax burden on retailers. For the first time ever, the uniform business rate rise will [...]
Why bank data transparency could lead to a better functioning market December 18, 2013 FEW would find it hard to spot the difference between Stoke Newington and Salford. It’s certainly more than 200 miles that divides the North London district and the regenerating Manchester borough, now home to the BBC’s MediaCityUK. But earlier this week, banks published figures showing that both these places are hotspots for small and medium-sized [...]
We should not accept a long-term decline in salary-linked pensions December 18, 2013 THIS week, the Institute for Fiscal Studies told people born in the 1960s and 1970s that they will be worse off than their parents when they retire. This was mainly down to falls in income due to the financial crash, and lower savings rates. But another reason is the long-term decline of defined benefit (DB) [...]
Letters to the Editor – 19/12 – Airport debate, Best of Twitter December 18, 2013 Airport debate [Re: It’s time to kick politicians out of the crucial debate on airport expansion, Tuesday] The CBI recently noted that direct flights open doors to new trade. We must act on airports, and Heathrow is the best option. It would be quicker to build, and be cheaper than a new Thames Estuary hub. It [...]
The airport shortlist is out: Politicians must now promise to let Britain grow December 17, 2013 THE INTERIM report of Sir Howard Davies’s Airports Commission, released yesterday, is the perfect wake-up call to our political leaders. Expanding London’s airports is critical to Britain’s future economic well-being. And it can’t wait any longer. Davies’s two key findings are spot on. First, Britain doesn’t have enough runways to meet the demands that will [...]
Against the Grain: Roll on 2014: The last five years have been miserable for the global economy December 17, 2013 THE END of a year is always a good time to take stock. And for the first time since 2007, the prospects for the UK economy for the year ahead look unequivocally good. But looking back, just how bad have the last few years been across the developed world as a whole? And how do [...]