How QE has harmed the economy April 7, 2014 LET ME begin with a confession. I admire former Fed chair Ben Bernanke for undertaking quantitative easing (QE) back in 2008. It was a brave decision, which involved taking a bold step across an unknown monetary horizon. It was also the right decision for the time, as it prevented the money supply from collapsing – [...]
The real reason you should be depressed by political soundbites April 7, 2014 POLITICAL sound-bites can be excruciating. They hang around for a year or two before disappearing when they become untenable. Who can forget Labour’s “too far, too fast”, or the Conservatives’ “global race”? With just over a year to go before the general election, you’ll be depressed to hear the current offerings look entrenched. The Conservatives [...]
It’s a national scandal that Britain is driving away foreign talent April 7, 2014 THE NEWS that the number of overseas students at UK universities has fallen for the first time in almost 30 years is little less than a national scandal. When migrants are responsible for founding as many as one in seven UK businesses – according to the Centre for Entrepreneurs – and our companies struggle to [...]
Sorry Ofgem: Why simpler energy tariffs are not in consumers’ interests April 3, 2014 OFGEM says that energy customers want simpler tariffs. To that end, it has limited energy suppliers to at most four tariffs. It has also prohibited various discounts, charges and special offers. But is this what customers expected from “simpler tariffs”? Would they still support that policy if they knew what it would mean? Findings from [...]
It’s not just Clegg who’s lost contact with reality – it’s the whole establishment April 3, 2014 I HAVE never seen anything like it. Nick Clegg’s trouncing in a televised debate with Ukip leader Nigel Farage this week was spectacular. Not so much for the drubbing of the deputy Prime Minister – even among the Lib Dem faithful, his popularity has been in the doldrums for years. Nor for the strengths of [...]
Another FCA blunder: Draconian crowdfunding rules threaten innovation April 3, 2014 HERE’S a question for all you clever City A.M. readers. What did the UK’s financial regulator do recently to provoke the following quote? “On a day like today, one has to wonder whether the Financial Conduct Authority is the worst regulator in the Western world.” You might well guess that it was the FCA’s cock-up [...]
How we’re revitalising markets for economic growth April 2, 2014 MARKETS when they work well are incredibly powerful. When we drive around we don’t have to think about the supply chain needed to produce the 30,000 or so parts that go into a modern car. As we shop for groceries we don’t need to consider what it takes to assemble fresh food from dozens of [...]
Why there’s nothing ethical about progressive taxation April 2, 2014 IN THE Constitution of Liberty, Friedrich Hayek states that his views on progressive taxation (where the tax rate rises as the income being taxed increases) are so extreme, he will offend almost everyone. I feel the same, writing a column that takes on not only Adam Smith, but George Osborne and the entire progressive tax [...]
How one London council is cutting tax while improving services April 2, 2014 THOSE touring Hammersmith and Fulham to buy or rent property will often find estate agents mentioning council tax. While other bills keep rising, council tax in the borough, where I am a councillor, keeps coming down. It is due to drop by another 3 per cent in April next year. In 2006, council tax, at [...]
London 2030: An optimist’s vision of the next urban renaissance April 1, 2014 LONDON faces acute problems of growth. We are building barely a third as many new homes as we need. Yet there is no credible plan for the other two-thirds. In 17 boroughs, the average rent is more than half the average wage, and the typical first time buyer is 32. Peak congestion is unbearable across [...]
