George Osborne and Boris Johnson have spent the week courting Chinese leaders to convince them that London, despite its flaws (or maybe because of them), remains the financial capital of the world and the only place for China to begin opening up to western markets. The deal being brokered includes a licence for the UK… [Read More]
Thursday saw the launch of a new NHS staff engagement review by Lib Dem Care Minister Norman Lamb, which will explore expanding the role of mutuals, cooperatives and social enterprises in the NHS. Notably, Lamb made a bold claim that the Mid Staffordshire care scandal would not have occurred in a staff-run organisation, stating that… [Read More]
This week the European Commission will publish a report on EU migration, labour and welfare access. It comes just as the government proposes its new Immigration Bill, and as EU Commissioner László Andor takes the Department of Work and Pensions to the Court of Justice for Britain’s ‘right to reside’ test on certain migrant benefits.
The imprisonment of former Ukrainian president Yulia Tymoshenko has been a permanent stumbling block in relations between Ukraine and the EU. The detention of the popular leader of the Orange Revolution is widely seen as politically motivated and has been an uncomfortable reminder of Ukraine’s selective justice system. The issue came to the fore last… [Read More]
The millennium bug was addressed so successfully, people still think it never existed.
HSBC might have started something yesterday. It began with their announcement of a new pot of £5 billion to lend to Small and Medium-size Enterprises (SMEs), specifically wanting to expand into overseas markets. In a press release, HSBC claimed they wanted to be ‘the leading bank for international trade’, which they see as ‘being key… [Read More]
Last week, even as the US federal government shut down and ‘non-essential’ personnel – including half the Department of Health and Human Services – were furloughed, crucial parts of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 2010 (PPACA, or ‘ObamaCare’) reforms went into law. These were the bill’s public insurance exchanges – essentially a set… [Read More]
The issue of a referendum on Europe, which gained so much traction at the beginning of this year, seems to have dropped off of Labour’s radar altogether. A few months ago there were calls from inside the party for Labour to demand an early referendum on Britain’s membership to the EU. Some party members, including… [Read More]
Since more people voted for Democrat representatives than for Republican, the Democrats are to blame if Obamacare goes ahead but the Republicans are to blame if they stop it.
Mortgage is believed to come from the Old French ‘Mort’ and ‘gage’, literally “dead pledge”, to signify a loan which ended upon full repayment or when payment failed. Today, it could be better interpreted as a pledge to ‘pay until death’ with an ever-increasing gap between house prices and wages. Help to Buy is no… [Read More]