General Election 2015: Back to the 30s? How Labour is misleading the electorate January 5, 2015 Friday 19 December 2014 was a happy day for many Londoners, marking their last in the office before Christmas. Yet amid all the festivities, you’d have been forgiven for missing something equally joyous. That Friday also marked the official start of the “long” UK general election campaign. Mercifully, the parties struck something of a [...]
William and Flora Hewlett Foundation – No.12 December 18, 2014 USA – £151.9m Never stifle a generous impulse,” was one of William Hewlett’s favourite sayings and he kept his word. Hewlett, one half of the duo that set up computer manufacturing giant Hewlett Packard, has proved just as generous as his HP co-founder David Packard. In fact, it was the personal generosity of Hewlett, [...]
Labour vows to double fines on tax avoidance November 13, 2014 THE LABOUR Party yesterday pledged to double the fines on people who aggressively avoided tax, if it won the next election. Shadow chancellor Ed Balls said this would be a “tough and genuine deterrent”. Balls said Labour had supported the introduction of the government’s anti-abuse rule, which stated that if someone’s tax arrangement was found [...]
Greek government calls snap presidential election next week December 8, 2014 Greece’s government last night announced that crucial presidential elections due in two months time would instead happen next week. The surprise decision comes after Eurozone finance chiefs yesterday said they supported an extension of Greece’s bailout of two months. Government spokesman Sofia Voultepsi said last night the vote would be held 17 December with possible [...]
Exports have become a political football: We must change the way we look at trade December 4, 2014 LARGELY missing from the debate surrounding the Autumn Statement was a discussion of exports and the UK’s trade picture more generally. Ed Balls got in a brief ribbing about the supposedly stunted performance of UK exports and the progress to date in achieving the government’s aim of an “export-led recovery”. And the package of help [...]
Greece elections 2015: How David Cameron, Ed Miliband, Paul Krugman and other world leaders and economists reacted to Syriza victory January 26, 2015 The impact and significance of Syriza's victory in the Greek election is already making its mark on Europe and the rest of the world. Syriza, a leftist anti-austerity party, wants to renegotiate Greece's debt to its three creditors (the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund), which currently stands at around [...]
David Cameron: Let us block migrant benefits or we’ll leave EU November 27, 2014 David Cameron will today fire a warning shot over EU negotiations by revealing plans to dramatically tighten benefits allowances for immigrants from within the Union. The Prime Minister will toughen his stance by insisting that he is ready for Britain to leave the EU unless benefits for migrants can be severely restricted. His speech comes in [...]
The City must make the case for EU reform – for the sake of all Europe January 5, 2015 The General Election looms large at the start of this New Year. For practical reasons, business prizes stability and places a premium on calm trading conditions, as major changes in policy have an unsettling effect on potential investors. And few decisions will have such a far reaching impact on the UK economy as what we [...]
G20 summit: Cameron, Obama and world leaders pledge $2 trillion boost and 2.1pc GDP growth by 2018 November 16, 2014 Countries of the G20 have pledged to grow their economies by 2.1 per cent by 2018, adding $2 trillion (£1.25 trillion) to the global economy. The G20 summit in Brisbane was brought to a close by leaders committing to more than 800 reforms aimed at growing their collective GDP, including employment measures, Infrastructure investment, increasing [...]
Euro at two-year low after hint of early Xmas present November 6, 2014 THE EURO fell to a two-year low and stocks were buoyed yesterday after European Central Bank (ECB) chief Mario Draghi signalled that quantitative easing could soon become a reality. “The Governing Council has tasked ECB staff and the relevant committees with ensuring the timely preparation of further measures to be implemented,” Draghi said during his [...]