Why I’m bearish about house prices August 5, 2010 ONE of the big lessons of the recession – and of several previous downturns, including Britain’s crisis in the early 1990s and the secondary banking crisis of the 1970s – is just how important property is to modern economies. Bubbles in housing or commercial property are invariably devastating; they almost always take the economy down [...]
The age of flexible pensions October 7, 2010 AS UNIONS reacted furiously to the publication of Lord Hutton’s public sector pensions review yesterday, Britain’s working population has a trickier issue to resolve than raising “French-style riots”: what to save and how. Despite de-leveraging significantly over the last year, Brits are still not saving enough. And on top of the pensions deficit, it is [...]
Lady liberty has found her sense of humour – PJ O’Rourke checks in November 29, 2010 POLITICIANS,” growls PJ O’Rourke, “don’t understand finance at all – even the last little bit. Yet they’re increasingly in charge of it.” America’s greatest living satirist is back in town and training his anger on the political enterprise. His new book is titled Don’t Vote! It Just Encourages The Bastards. The idea of politicians setting [...]
Lady liberty has found her sense of humour – PJ O’Rourke checks in November 29, 2010 POLITICIANS,” growls PJ O’Rourke, “don’t understand finance at all – even the last little bit. Yet they’re increasingly in charge of it.” America’s greatest living satirist is back in town and training his anger on the political enterprise. His new book is titled Don’t Vote! It Just Encourages The Bastards. The idea of politicians setting [...]
PIMCO’S GROSS ISSUES WARNING OVER A BRAZEN PONZI SCHEME: QE October 27, 2010 PIMCO’S resident bond expert Bill Gross yesterday, in his usual verbose fashion, issued a stark warning over the upcoming second round of quantitative easing (QE) in the US – dubbing it no less than a “Ponzi scheme” on the part of the Federal Reserve. “Check [sic] writing in the trillions is not a bondholder’s friend; [...]
Q&A September 9, 2010 Q.I have a business idea. Do I need market research? A.Ideas are great but good businesses are built on finding a niche – and banks will expect to see why your idea is viable. Travers Clarke-Walker, product and marketing director for Barclays Business, says: “doing market research is a good way for a business to [...]
The City boys offering a cut above | City A.M. September 24, 2010 IF YOU can find it in the medieval maze between Lombard Street and Cornhill, tailoring shop Cad & the Dandy is a delightful place to get yourself togged up. It mixes old-fashioned charm – an antique mahogany cutting table, an old leather sofa for those waiting to be measured up, a Union Jack across one [...]
The City boys offering a cut above September 23, 2010 IF YOU can find it in the medieval maze between Lombard Street and Cornhill, tailoring shop Cad & the Dandy is a delightful place to get yourself togged up. It mixes old-fashioned charm – an antique mahogany cutting table, an old leather sofa for those waiting to be measured up, a Union Jack across one [...]
Cable wages war on British boardrooms September 21, 2010 VINCE Cable will today launch a scathing attack on British business, announcing a wide-ranging investigation into company takeovers, executive pay and corporate governance. The business secretary will use a keynote speech at the Liberal Democrat conference to wage war on large companies, promising to “shine a harsh light into the murky world of corporate behaviour”. [...]
Why your dream home may just be up in Scotland’s northern reaches August 26, 2010 THE number of holiday homes in the UK is on the rise, according to research by Knight Frank. After declining in 2008, the number of British second homes swelled 2.6 per cent last year and is set to rise another 2 per cent this year. So with demand once again on the up, buyers should [...]