The PPI scandal ends at last – but the nuisance calls will keep coming
Of all the stains on the reputation of UK banks, the PPI scandal is surely the most shameful, the most…
Now is the wrong time to tackle rising boardroom pay
The average FTSE 100 chief executive earned £3.5 million last year — 117 times the £29,574 pay of the average…
Why you can’t let Brexit affect your life
A couple with a first baby sought my advice: they had accepted a low offer for their cramped London flat…
If investors are fleeing to gold, this is not the time to be smug
It came as no great surprise that the UK economy contracted by 0.2 per cent in the second quarter, following…
Should we be sad or happy that the pound has buckled?
A wave to the FT team whose weekend feature on how the pound has been hit by fears of no…
Why Rishi Sunak is the one to watch in parliament
‘Turbocharging’: sounds exciting, doesn’t it? Two weeks ago, I noted that our incoming PM had deployed this power-word — with…
Has the gin craze reached its zenith?
The list of business leaders who have damaged their careers with a single word famously begins with Gerald Ratner, who…
Should we all be alarmed by Boris?
Back when Boris Johnson was editor of this magazine and MP for Henley, I was with him at a Tory…
Deutsche Bank is a parable for our mad modern era
Among the numbers attached to the restructuring of Deutsche Bank announced by Chief Executive Christian Sewing this week, the 18,000…
The titanic battle between the former Tesco chiefs
How surprising to read one former Tesco chief, 82-year-old Lord MacLaurin, badmouthing another, Sir Terry Leahy. The surprise is because…
Facebook’s new currency is not to be trusted
Friends of former Barclays chief executive John Varley — I don’t mean ‘people who speak to the media on his…
Is Green’s deal with his creditors the beginning of another scandal?
There’s a palpable urge elsewhere in the media to see Sir Philip Green come to grief, whether as a result…
The Woodford saga reminds us that we should never be seduced by star stock-pickers
Hounds are baying for the blood of former star investment manager Neil Woodford, whose shrinking funds have closed for withdrawals.…
In favour of nationalisation? Take a look at Network Rail
We don’t hear enough about Network Rail these days. By that I mean that the entity recently described by the…
Should we fear Facebook’s cryptocurrency?
The cryptocurrency winter has turned to spring: having slumped from $20,000 in late 2017 to $3,200 a year later, bitcoin…
Why the British Steel crisis is not about Brexit
There’s a strong sense of déjà vu in this week’s steel crisis. The whole Brexit saga seems to have been…
Metro Bank was the wrong model for its place and time
This column has long been a fan of the concept of ‘challenger banks’ offering alternatives for personal and small business…
Let’s face it, we’d steal China’s secrets if we could
On the matter of whether former defence secretary Gavin Williamson was the real ‘H’ in Line of Duty, I admit…
Why women make better senior bankers than men
If you’re a bloke in a suit who’d like to apply for the governorship of the Bank of England (deadline…
We need an inquiry into the Elizabeth Line farce
If you know my personal history with Barclays, you may be wondering whether I’m for or against Edward Bramson. To…
Why passengers won’t mourn the passing of Virgin trains
‘Virgin trains could be gone from the UK in November,’ blogged Sir Richard Branson from his billionaire hideaway after the…
Germany’s economy is crashing – but its fall may help save us
This is no time for schadenfreude — but take comfort from the fact that the UK isn’t built like Germany.…
UK business investment has nosedived – what’s to blame?
Business investment in the UK declined in all four quarters of 2018 to complete a year-on-year dive of 2.4 per cent,…
The real winner from Brexodus won’t be Frankfurt, Paris or Dublin
How big is Brexodus — the flight of business and people from the City of London in parallel with our…
Merging two unhappy companies is a recipe for disaster
It never works to take two unhappy companies and blend them into a bigger pile of misery. That’s the way…
