The minority UK Conservative government is under pressure to loosen the fiscal purse strings. Does that mean the dream of balancing the budget remains no more than a dream? Who would benefit? Will taxes have to rise? And what are the risks? Cardiac arrest in the Gilts market is a real possibility. Under pressure Boris…
What does the composition of President Macron’s post-election government tell us about France’s likely reform programme? Were the four early resignations a sign of weakness or of strength? Is the young President in as strong a position as he looks? And, assuming things are going in the right direction, who will be the early winners…
I was recently invited to a Conservative Party lunch hosted by the City and Westminster Tory Association. It was a jolly affair, with hundreds of well-oiled attendees, and despite the recent electoral setback, the mood appeared quite upbeat. Mrs May, to her credit given the recent events, made a formulaic speech that was well received,…
The FTSE-100 has been gliding around the stratospheric 7,500 level. So everything must be alright, then? Not necessarily. The FTSE-100 is powered by international market sentiment and the relative weakness of the Pound, which makes British blue chips look good value. Now confidence is on the wane. The Institute of Directors issued a report last…
If you ever wanted to get an idea how life could be if there were more pragmatic regulations, a simple tax regime, and a wide range of options to access capital, you should visit the Isle of Man. It offers a unique combination of possibilities to entrepreneurs, investors, retirees, and anyone else who tries to…
Raking over the smouldering embers of the UK general election, there is one salient theme that speaks to the future. The deep socio-political-demographic divide between the Elders and the Millennials has reached a tipping point. A youthquake has struck. Society – not just in the UK but across the West – is about to change…
It was the big-budget West End musical that flopped. The “snap” UK general election of 2017 never really had a compelling plotline. Its major characters were poorly drawn, the acting wooden and the singing excruciating. The theatre had to be evacuated twice for security reasons. The diva-heroine didn’t even make it on the stage for…
I just came accross an article on CNBC about a trader from Saxo Bank who predicts that Bitcoin will be worth $100,000 in 10 years time, as cryptocurrencies gain market share in the highly liquid foreign exchange market. While 10 years is still a long time to wait for such a bold prediction to materialise,…
What’s done cannot be undone. William Shakespeare, Macbeth. Here in Scotland, the British general election is a referendum on whether there should be a second referendum on independence. Increasingly, it is a binary choice between the Scottish Nationalists and the Tories. What will be the impact of the election on the Scottish economy? And what…
In the past month, I’ve been going around the British Isles, talking to groups of people about my research into longevity, ahead of the launch of the Juvenescence book in July. I know it’s always a mistake to develop confirmation bias, but the more I talk on the subject, and the more I look into…
