The mechanics of crises
Financial crises have their origins in human behaviour. They are not natural disasters like hurricanes or earthquakes whi...
Look behind the fiscal tree but don’t expect to find any money
Russell Long, the southern Democrat who was long-serving chair of the Senate Finance Committee, composed the ditty ‘don’t tax you...
HBOS report yields three important lessons for all businesses
The FCA and PRA have finally published their report into HBOS, the bank formed from the merger of Halifax with Bank of Scotland, more t...
Liquidity helps financial market participants, not businesses and households
Last week, the Bank of England held an ‘open forum’ to discuss what the financial sector contributes to the real economy. I was p...
The flaws in the case for Heathrow
Dear Prime Minister, Within the next few weeks, you will have to make one of the most significant, and controversial, decisions of your...
Is it meaningful to talk about the ownership of companies?
Shareholders own the corporation, and the duty of the directors to maximise shareholder value follows from that. I have lost count of t...
UK invites more bank failures by backtracking on executive liability
In a remarkable book written thirty years ago in the wake of the accident at Three Mile Island, the organisational sociologist Charles ...
Mutuality
The days of mutual businesses seem to be drawing to a close. The “for sale” sign has gone up outside the offices of the Equitabl...
Uncertainty, cost and noise undermine the case for a new runway at Heathrow
Should expansion of London’s airport capacity should take place at Heathrow or Gatwick? In the last Parliament, the Coalition eva...
If tax credits are revised it needs to be done gradually
Tax credits have become the most divisive issue in British politics, splitting government from opposition, both major political parties...