By 2040, the U.K.’s debt-to-GDP ratio is likely to reach over 400 percent if the government chooses to continue on its present path. But even as the present government attempts to scale back on a number of welfare benefits – particularly pension benefits – to reduce its debt, public opposition means that they must seek other alternatives; and try to strike a balance between the nation’s debt and public welfare.
By 2014, Scottish voters may have the chance to end the country’s 307-year intermarriage with England and the United Kingdom at a referendum for independence. The growing belief right is now that Scotland has the economic capacity to go it alone, particularly as they have an abundance of oil and natural gas reserves. Yet even so, the Scottish government is still keen to become the green energy capital of Europe, with more investments placed in renewable energy.
U.K. bankers can “learn a thing or two” about fair play and motivations from the nation’s Olympic athletes and volunteers, said Bank of England governor Sir Mervyn King on Sunday, following a series of high-profile financial scandals that have tarnished the reputation of Britain’s banking industry.
As the London Olympics are finally upon us, we take a look at some of the major costs that have gone into hosting the games.
The 2012 Summer Olympics are expected to be one of the most expensive games in history, with the current budget hovering around the range of some $13 billion now, a 101 percent increase from the budget presented at London’s initial bid.
While it is nowhere near as expensive as its extravagant Beijing predecessor, researchers say the budget overrun could far exceed the average Olympic overruns we’ve seen in the last 50 years.
The Olympics is no longer all about sport, but rather a corporate jamboree for the elite super-rich. The same pattern repeats itself every time as host nations are forced to follow the International Olympic Committee’s rulebook.
Ever since French baron Pierre de Coubertin began the modern Olympics in the late 19th century, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been run by the world’s economic and social elite.
Bank chiefs found responsible for the collapse of their financial institutions should not be “allowed back into the industry again,” said the chairman of the U.K. Financial Services Authority (FSA) on Sunday, in the wake of new rate-fixing allegations that have engulfed Barclays and other banks.
The recent appointment of John Griffith-Jones, the senior partner of KPMG, as chairman-designate of the Financial Conduct Authority in the U.K. is troubling. Rather than properly investigating the causes of the banking and financial crisis, dealing with the culprits, and instituting fundamental reforms, the U.K. government’s appears set to just bury the truth and paper over the cracks in the hope of a recovery.
UK Chancellor George Osborne and Bank of England Governor Mervyn King have announced a £100 billion credit scheme aimed at stimulating the British economy amid fresh concerns that the eurozone’s “large black cloud of uncertainty” could lead to another severe credit crunch and high interest rates in Britain.
According to the Public Accounts Committee, tougher rules are needed to prevent the abuse of some 24,000 government credit cards by UK civil servants. In a report published today, the Committee said 99 questionable cases were uncovered over the past three years, including spending by Ministry of Defence military and civilian staff in bars, restaurants and golf clubs.
London’s finance sector is facing a 16-year low in the number of available jobs, said the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) on Wednesday, with the eurozone crisis expected to cause over 25,000 layoffs in 2012.
According to the CEBR, finance sector jobs in the U.K. capital was now estimated to fall to just 255,000 this year, compared to a previous estimate of 288,000 made just six months ago and down from the 280,350 jobs reported last year.
