Cable reveals plans for local stock exchanges. His critics miss the point
27 Jul 2010 [0 Comments | 139 views]
Vince Cable is pushing the button marked finances for small and medium sized companies. Yesterday he and his good chum George Osborne revealed a new paper outlining ideas to deal with the problems businesses face in raising finance. And Vince’s idea of regional stock exchanges, first mooted before the election, was given another public airing. [...]
Students opt for entrepreneur as their career choice
22 Jul 2010 [0 Comments | 219 views]
From something bad, good things can grow. Mass unemployment is not good. But it can at least force the labour market to become more flexible and force some people to re-invent their career, which can be a good thing. Recessions in which businesses go bust can also leave a vacuum, which can filled by more-efficient [...]
Osborne wants to hit welfare, but business angels are left without a halo
28 Jun 2010 [0 Comments | 237 views]
George Osborne has let his ideas for solving the fiscal deficit slip while at the G20 summit. Mr Osborne wants to hit welfare, at least that is what he is saying . At the G20 in Canada, he told the press: “Some of these benefits individually are very much larger than most government departments … [...]
The great economic oil leak gets worse – only the small people can plug it
17 Jun 2010 [0 Comments | 422 views]
Goodness gracious, news on the economy seems to be gushing forth faster than oil into the Gulf of Mexico. There is only one thing that seems able to match the sheer volume of gas gushing forth from the world’s media on the economy, and that’s the hot air being emitted from the US media, and [...]
Innovation is answer to UK’s fiscal hell
9 Jun 2010 [0 Comments | 323 views]
Productivity has been the curse of the UK economy. For decades productivity in the UK has lagged behind productivity levels in the US and other European countries. But there is a hint of hope. Between 1991 and 2008 the UK’s productivity growth rate was the highest in the G7. That’s an important point. Productivity is [...]
Capital gains tax to rise: markets don’t like it, but they miss the point
19 May 2010 [3 Comments | 633 views]
So there’s a row brewing between the Lib Dems and the Tories over tax. The Tories want lower tax, the Lib Dems want fairer taxes. And at the centre of the debate lies likely changes to capital gains tax (CGT). It seems likely we will see capital gains tax on shares and second homes rise, [...]
Entrepreneurs cheer up
27 Apr 2010 [0 Comments | 236 views]
Hope comes out of the woodwork, and comes courtesy of entrepreneurs. So suggests a new report from Hiscox, entitled: DNA of an entrepreneur. For once it is good news, and points to an economic revival driven by entrepreneurs. The study was carried out in the UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands. Curiously, when asked if [...]
Did the chancellor present an entrepreneurs’ budget?
25 Mar 2010 [1 Comment | 433 views]
Mr Darling droned on for just a few minutes short of an hour yesterday, and yet he hardly said anything. There was barely any news at all in the budget, and today the media pore over it, dissecting this, debunking that. Well, actually, that is not entirely so. The budget contained some interesting bits too. [...]
Darling needs to boost enterprise
22 Mar 2010 [0 Comments | 221 views]
Alistair Darling was quizzed by Andrew Marr on Sunday. Would Mr D use his budget as a pre-election bribe? This may come as a complete shock to you, but our chancellor denied he was planning to do this. But what he did do was to talk about encouraging growth. Now you can encourage growth in [...]
Solid oxide fuel cells: they look like batteries, they are hot, and they may solve the fuel crisis
4 Mar 2010 [0 Comments | 381 views]
With all the doom and gloom floating about at the moment, it is easy to fall into a pit of despair. Let’s face it, there’s a lot that’s wrong with the economy. And with the baby boomers retirement getting closer, it is difficult to see how the economy will cope. This column has argued over [...]
