Why Osborne’s housing subsidies feel right out of the 1970s March 24, 2013 IT is all too easy to make comparisons between the behaviour of current politicians and those of their historic predecessors. But basic economic errors seem ingrained in the nature of those in positions of power, and keep happening in almost cyclical fashion, albeit always in superficially very different circumstances. I have previously compared George Osborne [...]
Osborne bashes banks February 3, 2013 THE GOVERNMENT is undermining banks’ stability and hitting lending to businesses and households by threatening to break up the institutions, banks warned last night. Chancellor George Osborne will today announce his plan to electrify the ring fence that will sit between banks’ retail and investment operations. Under the proposal, banks that try to dodge this [...]
How we can reignite popular capitalism in Britain’s state-owned banks February 4, 2013 LORD Lawson, the former chancellor, has rightly asked the question of what to do about the ownership of RBS. But his suggestion – full nationalisation – has certainly raised eyebrows. While the yearly debate about bonuses causes political headaches, it is well-acknowledged that RBS’s current management is “defusing the biggest balance-sheet time-bomb in history”. Longer-term [...]
Who’s who on Andrew Tyrie’s committee December 20, 2012 THE Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards (PCBS) was established in the wake of the Libor scandal earlier this year and has already proved controversial with today’s report. The commission is looking into ways in which standards in the banking industry can be raised. It will probe the industry more broadly than an earlier commission led [...]
Cuadrilla mulls future investor growth plans January 13, 2013 CUADRILLA Resources, the Staffordshire based shale gas explorer, is in talks with potential investors over taking a potential stake in the business amid growing investment interest in the UK shale gas sector. The company, currently the sole driller for shale gas in the UK using hydraulic fracturing or fracking, is understood to be holding talks [...]
High Speed Two railway to North unveiled today January 27, 2013 THE SECOND phase of the £33bn High Speed Two (HS2) railway will be unveiled by the government this morning, with communities learning whether they will be affected by the twin lines from Birmingham to Leeds and Manchester. However plans for a direct link to Heathrow have been postponed while the government decides on the future [...]
Parliamentary banking standards commission to unveil a tough stance on bank ring-fencing December 16, 2012 A HEAVYWEIGHT parliamentary committee on banking standards will this week unveil a hardline stance on proposals to ring-fence the retail banking operations of high street banks from their investment banking activities. The commission on banking standards – comprised of big hitters including former chancellor Lord Lawson, the future Archbishop of Canterbury Reverend Justin Welby and [...]
Thatcher saved UK from slow decline April 12, 2013 When Margaret Thatcher won the 1979 election, Britain was a country on its knees, a discredited, impoverished post-imperial nation in seemingly terminal decline, with ruthless union bosses imposing their will on a gutless establishment, cripplingly high inflation, a tax regime that forbade entrepreneurship and ambition, and an antiquated class system still in full sway. Dozens [...]
Government backs Heseltine’s plans for local authority power December 5, 2012 LOCAL authorities are set to get a say over billions of pounds of funding, after the chancellor endorsed Lord Heseltine’s recent report on stimulating growth. The 39 Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) across the country will become responsible for pitching spending ideas to a central funding pot from 2015, according to the Autumn Statement yesterday. LEPs, [...]
Red carpet is rolled out for charity traders December 5, 2012 IT is not everyday on a lunchtime stroll down Broadgate that a shark, cowgirl and giant armadillo can be spotted drinking beers outside Icap’s City offices. However yesterday was no usual trading day, but the firm’s 20th annual charity extravaganza, which has grown into something of a City institution. Among those hurtling through the revolving [...]