A truly radical review of business rates is worth more than all the Budget spin
Of all the measures talked up ahead of the Budget, the reannouncement of a ‘radical’ review of the business rates…
Won’t someone please unleash the challenger banks?
In my Yorkshire town of Helmsley the NatWest branch, originally an outpost of Beckett & Co of Leeds, has closed…
Watch out: Standard Chartered is even trickier to manage than credit default swaps
One day you’re an elder statesman, chairing top committees and pontificating on Question Time, and the next you’re out in…
How Labour’s 50p tax trick has ended up helping George Osborne
Last week’s public borrowing and tax-receipt figures, headlined ‘Chancellor hails biggest monthly surplus in seven years’, received considerably less attention…
Bet on a swift Grexit
‘Will Greece exit the eurozone in 2015?’ Paddy Power was pricing ‘yes’ at 3-to-1 on Tuesday, with 5-to-2 on another…
Lord Green must answer for HSBC’s sins – but maybe it was always too big to manage
Stephen Green — the former trade minister Lord Green of Hurstpier-point, who became this week’s political punchbag— was always a…
Why cheap oil could mean a Labour victory
BP’s profits are down, and the oil giant is slashing up to $6 billion out of its investment plan for…
The low sculduggery of high Victorian finance
The whole idea of capitalism, according to Enlightenment philosophers, was that it created a positive spiral of moral behaviour. ‘Concern…
What’s good about austerity (whatever the Greeks think)
The only question I remember from my Oxford moral philosophy paper was ‘What is integrity and is it a virtue?’…
Why Switzerland should have listened to Hong Kong on currency pegs
The Swiss National Bank usually ticks away as quietly as one of its nation’s more expensive timepieces, but when the…
The RMT’s Mick Cash and Tesco’s Dave Lewis win my prizes for media manipulation
Mixed results for the Brits at the Golden Globes, but I’m pleased to announce that my Golden Monkey Wrench for…
The eurozone is strong enough to kick out Greece if Syriza wins
Ever since European Central Bank president Mario Draghi declared himself ready, in July 2012, ‘to do whatever it takes to…
What to expect in business in 2015 (probably not the Triumph of Probity, Honour and Prudence)
You might recall a column I once wrote about a party at the Wallace Collection. It took place in late…
How do I ever get speaking gigs? I’m guessing it goes like this…
To Brighton, to address a conference of property investors. Unusually, I find myself programmed alongside both Gerard Lyons, City economist…
Cheap oil has finally arrived – and it looks like being a disaster
This oil price slump is turning into a ‘black swan’: one of those economic events that seem to come from…
Forget corporate social responsibility: just do a proper job
A theme of this autumn has been conversations about corporate reputation and how it is guarded or lost. To name…
Are the Qataris ready for the curse of Canary Wharf?
I’ve written before of a ‘curse of Qatar’ that might explain misfortunes attending the Gulf state’s UK investments, of which…
A miracle: French hotels actually like dogs
The first time I checked in to a French hotel with a golden retriever — his name was Gregory, predecessor…
Why I’m glad there’s no British Las Vegas
I didn’t realise that the Rialto Bridge has a moving walkway and muzak, that the gondolas beneath it float on…
What British start-ups are still missing
This issue includes the new Spectator Money supplement, in which I hope you’ll find a bouquet of stimulating ideas. The…
How Italy failed the stress test (and Emilio Botín didn’t)
Continuing last week’s theme, it was the Italian banks — with nine fails, four still requiring capital injections — that…
The one economic indicator that never stops rising: meet the Negroni Index
This dispatch comes to you from Venice — where I arrived at sunset on the Orient Express. More of that…
Storm warning: the world economy’s October troubles aren’t over yet
October is always a turbulent month, and I’m feeling uneasy about this one. The FTSE100 index, which looked set to…
Yes, Wonga lent at shocking rates – but it was customers who lied
‘Payday Lady is not trading at this time,’ says her website, sounding a little like La Dame aux camélias. Indeed (since…
Why the real winner from George Osborne’s ‘Google tax’ could be Nigel Farage
George Osborne’s promise to crack down on multinational companies’ avoidance of UK taxes by the use of impenetrable devices such…
