MPs stand up for British institutions after French Embassy slurs January 14, 2014 Last week, City A.M. editor Allister Heath wrote this piece: France’s failed socialist experiment is turning into a tragedy In response, the French Embassy has launched something of an (un)diplomatic rejoinder: 10 accounts on which City A.M. has got it wrong on France The embassy has levelled that France has a better health service, roads, [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 9 January 2014 January 8, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES UK mobile services in Channel tunnel British Eurotunnel passengers will finally be able to use mobile phones under the sea following an agreement between the Channel tunnel operator and UK telecoms groups to provide the same sort of voice and data services that have been available to the French since 2012. China offers [...]
Arts and lifestyle highlights for the next twelve months January 5, 2014 From Glastonbury to Shakespeare to Matisse, you won’t be short of things to do in 2014 MUSICArcade Fire confirmed as headliners for Glastonbury 2014The Glastonbury 2014 lineup is being kept under-wraps until summer, but that hasn’t stopped rumours surfacing thanks to loose-tongued artists and hints dropped by organiser Emily Eavis. Arcade Fire instigated a flurry [...]
2013 Christmas quiz – The Answers December 20, 2013 1. Between spring and autumn 2013, which of these countries received the largest upgrade to its 2013 GDP growth forecast from the IMF? a. Indiab. United Statesc. United Kingdom ANSWER – United Kingdom. In April, the IMF forecast the UK would grow by 0.7 per cent in 2013. By October, the IMF had raised this [...]
2013 Christmas quiz: Test your knowledge December 19, 2013 Ian Stewart, Deloitte’s chief economist, poses the trickiest economics questions of the year 1. Between spring and autumn 2013, which of these countries received the largest upgrade to its 2013 GDP growth forecast from the IMF? a. Indiab. United Statesc. United Kingdom 2. Which luxury asset class saw the biggest increase in value between 2003 [...]
It’s time to break the Whitehall silo and put startup discipline into government December 3, 2013 THE CURSE of Norman Lamont makes politicians wary of mentioning the “green shoots” of recovery. But when the data show growth of 0.4 per cent, 0.7 per cent and 0.8 per cent in the first three quarters of 2013, it’s clear. The UK is off life support. Sure, the recovery is heavily consumption-led, with exports [...]
Small firms look to start hiring as tax cut nears September 16, 2013 MORE small companies intend to take on additional staff in the third quarter than at any time in the last three years, according to new research released today. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) reveals that 15 per cent have increased staff numbers in this quarter, and have positive intentions for the near future. In [...]
Ryanair issues profit warning as weakness in Autumn season appears September 4, 2013 Budget airline Ryanair has issued a profit warning, announcing that it expects full year results to show profit at the lower end of the expected range of €570m to €600m (£482m to £508m). Full year traffic is also expected to come in lower at 81 million from 81.5 million previous. CEO Michael O'Leary said that [...]
H&M comparable sales fall during June for the first time since March August 15, 2013 THE WORLD’S second-biggest apparel retailer Hennes & Mauritz yesterday unexpectedly posted a small decrease in July like-for-like sales, the first monthly drop since March. Sales in stores open at least a year at the Swedish budget fashion firm were down one per cent in local currencies in July from a year earlier. Total sales in [...]
Rapid responses January 8, 2013 Planning inflation [Re: Daft planning rules are pushing up the price of food in shops, yesterday] While it is always good for an article about planning policy to focus on commercial property rather than housing, and while the academics cited may have delivered interesting papers, let’s not use this work to justify more fiddling with [...]