UK needs to stop deliberately inflating residential land prices August 14, 2013 MY column yesterday revealing that the French are building three times more homes than the British every year – an astonishing fact which highlights the gravity of our housing supply crisis – elicited a number of typical counter-arguments. The most common was that the French have plenty of land, and we don’t, so it isn’t [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 27 January 2014 January 27, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Citigroup bankers to get cash bonuses Citigroup is set to pay most of its investment bankers in Europe at least half of their bonuses in cash this year, underlining how US banks continue to be much more generous than their European rivals. At Citi’s Europe, Middle East and Africa unit, its top rewarded [...]
Savers will pay a terrible price for Europe’s latest stealth tax February 17, 2014 MONEY, money, money – there is much still to learn from Abba, the wonderful Swedish band, especially when it comes to economics. Take their garish outfits: the crazed hotpants, the white boots and the bizarre shirts. It turns out that they were chosen for tax reasons: under the crippling Swedish tax system under which Abba [...]
More Tube chaos with delays and cancellations on the Central, Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines October 1, 2014 More chaos for London's Tube users this morning, after a broken-down train at Tottenham Court Road caused Transport for London (TfL) to suspend the line between Liverpool Street and Marble Arch. To make matters worse, the Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan and Circle lines were hit with severe delays while TfL fixed a signal failure at [...]
The rise of the London Village January 16, 2014 IT SEEMS these days everyone wants their slice of village life, even if they live and work in the heart of the city. The Big Smoke has always been made up of distinct neighbourhoods with their own character and lifestyle, but the idea of the London Village has really taken hold in the public imagination [...]
Introducing: the designs of the year March 18, 2014 The ingenious creations that are set to define tomorrow’s world MOST museum shows look back to the past. With flying cars, floating schools and wheelchairs that grow with the owner, this one is all about the future. Next week the seventh Designs of the Year exhibition opens at the Design Museum, and the broad selection [...]
How the UK could cut public spending Singapore-style March 17, 2014 TOMORROW’S Budget will make it all too clear that, to get Britain’s public finances into a healthier state, further tight control of spending will be necessary. But as I’ve shown in my Gresham professorial lectures on how the West must adapt to cope with globalisation, recent spending restraint has been nowhere near enough to keep [...]
Lloyds on FTSE loserboard over tests on capital – London Report October 27, 2014 BRITAIN’S top equity index fell yesterday, weighed down by financials after Lloyds only narrowly passed a regulatory health check of Europe’s banks. The FTSE 100 index fell 0.4 per cent to 6,363.46 points, after managing a slight rebound last week from 15-month lows touched earlier in October. The index has come down from a more [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 18 December 2013 December 17, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES French seek EU defence fund Plunged into its second African military mission in under a year, France is showing increasing frustration at what it sees as a lack of spine among European partners on defence issues. In an effort to put its allies on the spot, President François Hollande is poised to demand, [...]
Tower furnished with high hopes January 16, 2014 West London has a new sky-scraper. Designer Paul Dawson discusses his inspirations LAST month, interior designer Paul Dawson looked out over south west London from a building he had been building in his mind’s eye for nine years. Dawson and his 12-strong team at Honky Interiors, which caters for private clients as well as major [...]