British business would thrive under a bespoke new deal with Brussels August 8, 2013 IN THE coming months, as the EU floats the possibility of fiscal, debt, and banking union as a solution to the Eurozone crisis, there is an opportunity for David Cameron to renegotiate a new deal that benefits our service and financial sectors. At Business for Britain, we have begun the process of consulting our supporters [...]
Letters to the editor – 09/08 – Forward guidance, Best of Twitter August 8, 2013 Forward guidance [Re: Why the governor’s monetary revolution will eventually backfire, yesterday] There is a serious flaw in the plan to use unemployment as a threshold for interest rate rises. The whole of the (first or second language) English- speaking working population of the EU can, through unrestricted EU migration, potentially qualify for inclusion in [...]
Mark Carney’s promise of prolonged low interest rates risks being broken August 7, 2013 THERE is a wind of change blowing through the Bank of England with new governor Mark Carney at the helm. Under his two predecessors – Eddie George and Mervyn King – the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) was always very reluctant to make commitments about its future policy. The view was that the Committee would reassess [...]
A ban on zero hours contracts would be damaging to our economic recovery August 7, 2013 WE FEEL no need to excuse businesses that are doing all they can to create jobs. Those who have this week labelled zero hours contracts abusive have completely missed the point. In uncertain times, firms face tough decisions on the risks – on inventory, expansion, staff – they are willing to take. Employers will only [...]
Forward guidance falls short of a strictly rules-based monetary policy August 7, 2013 ALMOST everyone will be disappointed by governor Mark Carney’s announcement yesterday. Those hoping the Bank of England would announce more monetary easing will feel let down. And while those of us hoping for strictly rules-based policy do have something to be happy about, Carney needed to go much further. The Bank has now spelled out [...]
Letters to the editor – 08/08 – Credibility void, Productivity trend, Best of Twitter August 7, 2013 Credibility void [Re: Economic data picks up but the Bank must clarify its position on inflation, yesterday] The author is right that the Bank of England has lost credibility. But it was not so long ago that the Bank adhered to targets regardless of circumstance. When recession struck in the 1980s and 1990s, it took [...]
Economic data picks up but the Bank must clarify its position on inflation August 6, 2013 THIS week has seen a further significant pick-up in the economic data. The Markit/CIPS purchasing managers’ index (PMI) showed services output in July rising at the fastest pace since the boom-times of 2006. The “composite PMI” (which includes manufacturing and construction as well as services) rose at its fastest ever recorded rate since the index [...]
Against the Grain: Even more powerful than an earthquake: The Don Bradman phenomenon August 6, 2013 THE holiday season is in full swing, and many have been more focused on cricket than on the state of the economy. Like in all team sports, a favourite pastime of fans is to argue over their choices of the greatest ever team or player. But there is one person who is an automatic choice. [...]
Our retail industry has a bright future – but it must adapt to survive August 6, 2013 A ROW of boarded up shops is not how we want our high street to look. But since the beginning of the recession, a high number of retail casualties have been claimed – great stalwarts of the high street like Woolworths and HMV among them. Despite flickering hopes of economic recovery, it is unlikely that [...]
Letters to the editor – 07/08 – Human ingenuity, Education reform, Best of Twitter August 6, 2013 Human ingenuity [Re: All hail the boffin burger: The next step in human nutrition, yesterday] We’re proud of our chefs for their innovative dishes. But experimentation can also help in tackling the age-old problem of food scarcity. Ideas like this artificial burger are becoming a reality, promising an age of cheap and nutritious food. Yet too often [...]