Nice ideas, but chancellor’s plans are smudged by fine print September 30, 2013 FISCAL responsibility is back – or so the chancellor would like us to believe. While the Tories shamefully backed Gordon Brown’s irresponsible policy of running budget deficits during the boom years, they have learnt the lesson the bitter way. George Osborne is at pains to convince sceptics he wants not just to reduce the deficit [...]
Cameron must now translate his vision into concrete action October 2, 2013 THERE is, of course, a place for soundbites. David Cameron’s speech yesterday had those in spades; some were even pretty good. The Prime Minister spoke up for the profit motive, for enterprise, hard work, improved standards in education and called for a land of opportunity. He defended business from the vicious attacks of Ed Miliband, [...]
Global investment set to climb to post-crisis high March 10, 2014 THE OUTLOOK for investment and employment globally is now at its strongest level since the financial crisis, with the UK’s rapid return to growth standing out particularly among advanced economies. Around the world, business optimism in general is at a two-year high, and stronger confidence is manifesting itself as firms intend to invest and hire [...]
How Britain can take advantage of a global growth in digital industries August 20, 2013 MOST new jobs are not created by established big businesses adding a few people here and there, or by the many smaller firms that are happy to stay small rather than take a risk and expand. Our future prosperity depends on a relatively small number of rapidly growing firms: high growth “gazelles”. So if we [...]
The lessons that big business must learn from the EU debates April 2, 2014 WHAT a disaster for Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats. They were slaughtered by Nigel Farage in yesterday’s TV debate on the EU and other matters, with a YouGov poll showing that the public thought the Ukip leader won it by 68 per cent to 27 per cent. Whether or not one agrees with them, [...]
What does the chancellor’s Budget mean for you? March 19, 2014 Catherine Gannon, 51Managing director of law firm Gannon The business continues to perform extremely well, but new legislation for LLPs means that it is being restructured. Profits and earnings are up on last year but the cost of living has increased rapidly. She doesn’t have much by way of a traditional pension plan but hopes [...]
Labour would be mad to oppose Osborne’s pensions liberation March 20, 2014 SUPPORTERS of the nanny state were out in force yesterday, attacking George Osborne’s revolutionary liberalisation of the pensions market. Starting next year, the chancellor will no longer force savers to hand over pension pots to insurers in return for a miserable income for life, a so-called annuity. Instead, savers will be able to use the [...]
Britain needs a monetary policy fit for a booming economy May 11, 2014 SO what, exactly, is going on? Why does the UK still have crisis-level interest rates at a time when growth is roaring ahead? When will the penny finally drop? Check out the evidence; it is pretty conclusive. The Confederation of British Industry believes that the economy will grow by three per cent this year and [...]
Nick Clegg’s ambition to lift the poor from tax is a lesson for Tories over low pay September 16, 2013 WHAT makes a popular policy that can capture the public imagination? Policy, like politics, is best when it provides a noble purpose. A fight against injustice. A sense of direction. Ideas brutally simple to understand. Take Margaret Thatcher’s “Right to Buy”. A noble purpose? Allowing council tenants to own their homes. A fight against injustice? [...]
Caribbean dream August 29, 2013 Get a tan while you invest: now is the ideal time to snap up that dream property, says Steve Irish SUN, SEA, sand and a sound investment. Too good to be true? Not for business-minded buyers with capital behind them: there has never been a better time to snap up that beach-front idyll. While traditional [...]