Shrinking company lifespans signify the start of the magnesium economy July 16, 2013 BRITAIN is enduring an economic enema. Bloated and unhealthy, blockages – to consumers, to finance, to starting businesses – are being slooshed away by the disintermediating power of the internet and social media. It doesn’t feel pleasant now, but a refreshed, if mildly emaciated, economy should result. Like a triathlete, the Britain of the future [...]
Foodie who hit the ground running September 29, 2013 Annabel Palmer talks to David Moore, the restauranteur behind London’s Pied a Terre THE GLOBAL restaurant industry is forecast to increase in size by 7.2 per cent over the next three years, rising from total revenues of $2.45 trillion (£1.53 trillion) in 2011 to $3.48 trillion by the end of 2016. And in the UK, [...]
Optical Express founder to take on debts to RBS July 21, 2013 THE FOUNDER of Optical Express has stepped in to save the firm from its biggest creditor. David Moulsdale is today expected to take on the firm’s debts to Royal Bank of Scotland, and has also agreed to “inject significant working capital” to ensure the company’s survival. Optical Express, which has 93 stores and 54 consultation [...]
Why governor’s monetary revolution will eventually backfire August 7, 2013 ONCE again, I find myself in a minority. Most economists – and the overwhelming majority of commentators – are delighted with Mark Carney’s shake-up of monetary policy. But while I welcome the governor’s enthusiasm, I am unconvinced by his proposals. First, the theory. Carney’s thinking is that 1) there is plenty of spare capacity in [...]
Coalition’s tweaks and gimmicks won’t reboot our economy June 23, 2013 SO was that it, then? When it comes to measures affecting our ailing economy at least, the coalition’s programme unveiled by the Queen yesterday can only be described as yet another damp squib. It contained a list of modest tweaks of the kind that a complacent government in the middle of a frenzied boom might [...]
The changing skyline of Aldgate June 4, 2013 Aldgate is fast becoming a hub for mixed-use developments offering the best in modern living. Naomi Mdudu investigates. The east end isn’t the only area under major regeneration. Aldgate, which lies within the City Fringe, a transitional area between the financial district and east London proper, is quickly becoming a prime residential spot and is [...]
Cheap money is fuelling the stock market’s dramatic bounce May 10, 2013 FOR the first time ever, the Dow Jones has closed above 15,000, in a major boost for investors everywhere. Remarkably, the index was at 14,000 just 66 days ago and is now up by 129 per cent since the 2009 trough, in a striking demonstration of the speed and scale of the bounce-back. With the [...]
Thatcher’s guru F.A. Hayek would have predicted the crisis April 14, 2013 FOR once, Ed Miliband had it right. In his surprisingly statesman-like tribute to Margaret Thatcher, the Labour leader explained the intellectual roots of her policies and political philosophy. It is, equally unusually, worth quoting him at length. “Before the end of the war”, Miliband recounted, “she bought a copy of Friedrich Hayek’s [a Nobel prize [...]
How positive start-up innovation is making full-time work redundant May 3, 2013 ASK a business owner 20 years ago how big their company was and, like the pharaohs, he or she would soon tell you how many people they employed. Full-time staff numbers denoted personal achievement and the business’s (and owner’s) social value. Today, precisely the opposite is true. In volatile markets and desperate to avoid fixed [...]
Average house price in London to hit £500,000 February 10, 2013 HOUSE prices in the southeast of the UK will soar in coming years, according to a forecast out yesterday, with the average house in the capital fetching half a million pounds. Currently the average London house is worth £383,000, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), but a tight housing market will [...]