Editorial: The energy cap can’t go right now – but free markets have better answers September 21, 2021 It is not, perhaps, the best time to argue for free markets and open competition in the energy market. Analysts are anticipating that the increase in the wholesale price of natural gas will see a host of firms wiped out; their economics are simply unworkable. The only thing protecting consumers from spiralling energy prices, then, [...]
Coutts CEO: When time is money, why we spent it on becoming a certified B Corporation bank September 21, 2021 Coutts recently became the largest UK private bank and wealth manager to become a B Corp. It has taken a lot of people and a lot of work over the last two years to get through the stringent scrutiny and analysis by B Lab UK required for certification. But time is often equated with money [...]
Britain needs to sober up from our addiction to gas September 21, 2021 This will be a winter where energy prices seldom stay out of the news. With the combination of cracks appearing in our creaking electricity system, record global gas prices, and the largest overnight benefits cut in history risk colliding in a way that piles yet more pressure on families already struggling. In the short term, [...]
Labour’s plans to crackdown on private equity are only the beginning of the political dog fight September 20, 2021 Political interest in private equity has ramped up over the last year. After a string of high-profile political interventions on recent PE deals, from defence to retail, the Labour Party has made it their mission to scrap the carried interest tax rules that PE fund managers benefit from. Returns would no longer be booked as [...]
Tunnel vision: the private sector has the ability to transform British infrastructure September 20, 2021 Last week came an unsurprising denouement: the proposed link between Scotland and Northern Ireland, via a bridge or a tunnel, was being shelved. The Treasury could not countenance the estimated £15 billion cost. This was a project with Boris Johnson’s name all over it: big, bold, innovative and eye-catching. It would be a solid piece [...]
Boris’ success at COP26 will be measured by China’s seat at the table September 20, 2021 Boris Johnson has made clear his government is pursuing a “balanced” approach with China. Britain will seek to impose stronger safeguards to protect our national security, while maintaining cooperation in a range of areas. Climate change is one of the most prominent issues. China is the world’s largest emitter and as a result, requires focused [...]
Editorial: London’s ability to roll with the punches has served it in good stead September 20, 2021 “Come out of the cupboard, you boys and girls.” So snarled Joe Strummer on The Clash’s London Calling – an iconic rallying cry that we have borrowed for today’s front page. West London’s finest songwriter probably didn’t foresee the strange places in which we’d one day be making pandemic-induced Zoom calls. but he’d surely be [...]
A net zero future depends on open trade of green goods and services September 20, 2021 In the future when historians look back at 2021 they could well see it as a turning point. A time when after witnessing unprecedented wildfires, flash flooding and extreme winds, the world finally took notice and came together to tackle climate change. Or they could see it as a time when the world squandered this [...]
Editorial: London’s back and will remain a giant among cities September 20, 2021 “Come out of the cupboard, you boys and girls.” So snarled Joe Strummer on The Clash’s London Calling – an iconic rallying cry that we have borrowed for today’s front page. Whether the London legend foresaw the strange places in which we’d one day be making pandemic-induced Zoom calls is up for debate. Regardless, it [...]
Starters, mains and a side order of inducement: why that extra bottle could land you in trouble September 20, 2021 Many financial services sector city workers who have been working from home over the last eighteen months are now emerging butterfly-like from their home-office chrysalis and returning to the office. Enthusiasm and appetite for the working lunch have also returned, with socialising around work firmly back on the menu. It is not surprising to read [...]