All change as the superpowers vote? Maybe not
Three of the global superpowers vote for new presidents in 2012. Will they chose to elect the president they know rather than risk change? If so, the Putin, Sarkozy and Obama will be winners.
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The Edge
Richard Northedge takes on corporate finance
Archive for the ‘Politics’ category
Murdoch’s answer to his shareholders? Go private
Rupert Murdoch has upset politicians, the police, possibly prosecutors and probably the public. Now, with shareholders joining the chase, is it time to go private?
Darling denounces the Finance Director who became CEO
Promoting the chief executive to chairman is regarded as bad corporate governance now, but the move from finance director to CEO is common. That’s the move Gordon Brown made – finance minister to prime minister – yet Alistair Darling’s memoir details how disastrous it was.
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Labour: When new becomes old
The “New” prefix is one of the oldest tricks in marketing – good for relaunching a soap powder or motor car. But one of the most successful uses of the word is being dropped: the political party will no longer be “New Labour”.
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Don’t be modest George, spending cuts are good
George Osborne says the cuts in his comprehensive spending review were made because he had to, not because he wanted to. The chancellor should be less modest: trimming the excesses of the state is the right thing to do.
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Who cares what Labour’s policy is? It’s irrelevant
Britain’s Labour party is pulling itself apart over whether to ditch its policy of halving the country’s budget deficit over four years. But it doesn’t matter what policy Ed Miliband chooses: he’s not in government.
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Marketing tells Miliband to lurch to the Right
Forget politics, Ed Miliband needs to take lessons in marketing if Labour’s new leader is to succeed in becoming prime minister. There is no space for political principles or philosophy in his business; the only objective is market share.
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Politics and business mix badly
It can’t only be for the peerage. Why would any businessman put himself forward to help a political party or government?
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New Office of Budget Responsibility chairman must be independent
The Office of Budget Responsibility was established as an independent assessor of the economy but the independence of Sir Alan Budd is debatable, so his unexpected departure is an opportunity to find a chairman whose impartiality is beyond question.
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The rich are a repressed minority
It will not be fun to be rich in 2010. Labour plans a 50 per cent tax on earnings above £150,000; the Tories propose a £25,000 annual levy on non-domiciles and the Liberals pledge a 1 per cent tax on properties worth over £2m. Whoever you vote for, they’ll get you.
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