Business Comment
David Prosser: Demanding more flesh from banks
Outlook If bankers thought that one of the few positive effects of the new tax charges on bonuses might be that it would mark an end to open season on their kind, it did not take long for them to be disappointed. While readers of most newspapers woke up yesterday to stories about that new levy, The Wall Street Journal had an additional little treat for banking folk: an editorial jointly penned by Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy that effectively relaunched the campaign for a new global tax on financial transactions.
Inside Business Comment
Hamish McRae: Tories have chance to make history
Friday, 11 December 2009
Economic Life: In a generation's time, governments may not even have the sole power to determine tax levels
David Prosser: Cuts, cuts and more cuts
Friday, 11 December 2009
Outlook Two numbers that ought to frighten you (and that you certainly didn't hear during the Chancellor's pre-Budget report on Wednesday). They are 16 per cent and £15bn.
James Thompson: After festive cheer, retailing faces a hard slog in 2010
Friday, 11 December 2009
Each December for the past two years, Moss Bros has issued a profits warning. Yesterday, the branded suit specialist offered a much more upbeat announcement, saying that its underlying sales for the 18 weeks to 5 December had shot up by 5.5 per cent, while its margins had also risen.
David Prosser: Why Darling may not be able to deliver
Friday, 11 December 2009
Outlook There has quite rightly been a hullabaloo about Alistair Darling's refusal to explain how each government department will see its budget cut over the next four years as he tries to bring down the deficit. But the most pressing reason to question the credibility of the Chancellor's plans is not his lack of candour but his over-optimistic projections for economic growth. If these are not met, the deficit reduction plan has had it.
David Prosser: Judgement day deferred once more
Thursday, 10 December 2009
Outlook How's this for an instant verdict from the markets on Alistair Darling's efforts? Within minutes of the Chancellor sitting down, bookmaker Paddy Power halved the odds on Britain keeping its AAA credit rating. Before the speech, you'd have got 3-1 on there being a downgrade over the next six months or so. By the time Mr Darling finished speaking, the odds had shortened to 6-4.
David Prosser: Will lenders' Christmas spirit endure?
Thursday, 10 December 2009
Outlook While Britain's banks, including those now backed so heavily by the taxpayer, are now almost certain to miss the targets they set themselves for lending to business, it's only fair to report that lending to mortgage borrowing does finally seem to be less constrained. The monthly updates on how much lenders are advancing may be showing only modest improvements, but competition is at least returning amongst home loan providers.
David Prosser: New hope for Twitter
Thursday, 10 December 2009
Outlook There has been widespread scepticism about the ability of social networking sites such as Twitter to turn a profit, despite their own claims and the mega valuations investors have put upon them. But a little-noticed update from the computer giant Dell may just confound the doubters.
David Prosser: MPC's flagship policy running out of time
Thursday, 10 December 2009
Outlook While Alistair Darling only gets a crack at set-piece economic announcements twice a year, Mervyn King has a monthly opportunity via the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee to bring his influence to bear. We'll get the MPC's latest pronouncement on interest rates and quantitative easing today.
Ben Chu: Oh, inflation is low after all!
Thursday, 10 December 2009
Strange that some rightwing media organs, which have tried to frighten us all to death for many months about Britain's supposed imminent descent into hyperinflation, have suddenly discovered that inflation is, in the words of The Daily Telegraph today, "historically low".
David Prosser: Darling's impossible dilemma
Wednesday, 9 December 2009
Outlook Will Alistair Darling live to regret his determination to put the question of tackling the budget deficit on the back burner until he is convinced the UK economy is firmly in recovery mode? The Chancellor let it be known at the weekend that he would rather get it in the neck for pulling support from the economy too late than for pulling it too early. But he would not be human had yesterday's news from the credit ratings agencies not given him pause for thought.
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EDITOR'S CHOICE
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Nine best gifts for culture vultures -
Charity auction: starts at noon today -
Fisk: Palace built on shifting sands -
Avatar's first night: the big review -
The best books for Christmas -
Rabbis rage against the internet -
The day I read my secret police file -
€1bn gift: Because he's worth it? -
Simple technique changes sex of a mouse -
Music fans rage against X Factor -
Can Balotelli silence the racists? -
World leaders enacting giant fraud -
Feast of high drama and animation -
Twelve TV treats of Christmas -
Wilco - Saddled up for the long haul -
Andy Gill - The music to my year -
John Lydon: 'I'm not a bully or dictator' -
Last chance: Free mixtape
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Columnist Comments
• Adrian Hamilton: Policy and elections just don't mix
After a succession of massive majorities, we've forgotten what tight elections are like
• Terence Blacker: Losing faith in the story of the moral
In our nervous age, fiction is mistrusted and seems to lack relevance
• Mary Dejevsky: Why we stay away from the Post Office
It's that time of year again, and I don't mean the time when the Christmas lights are prematurely lit
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