Mansion House speech: George Osborne says budget surplus will be a legal mandate June 9, 2015 Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne will use a major speech in the City tonight to introduce a new law requiring future governments to run an overall budget surplus. “The result of this recent British election, and the comprehensive rejection of those who argued for more borrowing and more spending, gives our nation the [...]
Up to 160 Conservative MPs want to cut the top rate of income tax to 40 per cent June 29, 2015 Senior Conservatives have said up to 160 MPs want the top rate of income tax taken down to 40p in the next budget, due on 8 July. Read More: Think tank IFS says Labour cannot bank on 50p tax rate to bring in more money This mounts pressure on George Osborne ahead of his first truly Conservative [...]
George Osborne gives Goldman Sachs alum Jim O’Neill top Treasury job May 14, 2015 Former Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O’Neill has been given a peerage and a top job in George Osborne’s treasury. The chancellor of the exchequer tweeted yesterday afternoon: “I am delighted to confirm Jim O’Neill as the new commercial secretary to the treasury to make devolution and the Northern Powerhouse happen.” https://twitter.com/George_Osborne/status/598855150640472064 Lord O’Neill, [...]
Why the advent of an “expert committee” doesn’t make Corbynomics any less scary September 28, 2015 Jeremy Corbyn and his shadow chancellor John McDonnell are desperate to be seen as economically credible. As part of this, on Sunday Labour announced the creation of a new economics committee made up of the economic darlings of the left: Thomas Piketty, Danny Blanchflower, Ann Pettifor, Joseph Stiglitz, Mariana Mazzucato and Simon Wren-Lewis. Make [...]
Green Investment Bank moves into profit ahead of government sale June 25, 2015 The government's Green Investment Bank (GIB) moved into profit in the past six months, it was revealed today – coinciding with the government’s decision to sell off its £1.4bn stake in the enterprise. At a London review, attended by chancellor George Osborne and business secretary Sajid Javid, the Edinburgh-based institution said it made a profit [...]
General Election 2015 reshuffle: Chris Leslie is the new Ed Balls as Labour’s shadow chancellor in Harriet Harman’s shadow Cabinet May 11, 2015 It's not just David Cameron putting his cabinet together today. The Labour party may have had an utterly disastrous election, but a shadow cabinet still needs to be formed by the acting leader Harriet Harman – and that's just what she's been up to this morning. Harman has opted to keep the shadow cabinet largely unchanged [...]
China’s stock market turmoil could spell bad news for London flotations August 26, 2015 When China sneezes, IPO-hungry investment bankers in London catch colds: it’s not quite as catchy as the original epithet, but it contains a distinct ring of truth. China’s stock market turmoil is unlikely to be a short-term phenomenon: the schizophrenic exhortations of Beijing to simultaneously beware of, and embrace, the ultimate expression of a [...]
The 100 City people you need to follow on Twitter this year, day four: Economists January 8, 2015 The financial crisis may have been a tough time for most of the City, but one group did pretty well out of it. There’s no doubt about it: economics has got sexy, as the popularity of everything from Thomas Piketty’s missive on inequality to “economics made easy” books such as The Undercover Economist, shows. Whether [...]
Labour’s Liz Kendall has “no problem” with a budget surplus June 11, 2015 Labour leadership candidate Liz Kendall has said she has "no problem" with aiming for a budget surplus, a policy the government wants to enshrine in law, which commentators say is a political move designed to pressure the Labour party. Read more: UK budget since 1986: There has been deficits for 22 of 30 years "Labour should [...]
Lord Smith’s SSE board departure brought forward March 18, 2015 SCOTTISH businessman Lord Robert Smith of Kelvin has brought forward his departure as chairman of energy giant SSE to become chairman of industrial group IMI. The announcement follows current IMI chairman Roberto Quarta’s decision to step down at the group’s annual general meeting in May. “We agreed unanimously that Robert, who in addition to his [...]