Champion of better capitalism
In Italy, the Minister of Finance is being threatened by his coalition partners with a ‘mega vendetta’ if his Treasury officials cannot find money from their spending promises. In Germany Mrs Merkel’s close supporter Volker Kauder has been defeated after 13 years as leader of … Continue readingWhatever happened to party unity?
To most people, capitalism would be a lot better if it allowed entrepreneurs to start businesses and make profits, but steered them towards thinking long term, protecting the planet, and valuing customers and employees and sharing rewards with them. In the USA and the … Continue readingExtractive capitalism is back – unintentionally encouraged by the left
Two weeks ago I praised John McDonnell for plans to spread share ownership. Now more details have emerged and I’ve changed my mind. When I was with Labour Business speaking at their conference fringe 2 years ago I recommended a requirement for LARGE LISTED companies … Continue readingLabour’s Employee Ownership Plan: not so inclusive after all
Interesting to read in the Financial Times that Coke’s motive for buying Costa was to give it access to its coffee supply chain. And what about this admission from their Asia-Pacific President John Murphy, ‘We have to continue to strengthen our core offering through innovation…But … Continue readingCoca Cola waking up and smelling the coffee
For some years I have argued that companies should follow the example of listed company Handelsbanken and set aside a proportion of their profits into an employee shareholding trust. More recently I suggested that top executives should only be permitted large bonuses or share awards … Continue readingCredit to Labour for their new thinking on wealth creation
Ten years on from the crisis, global debt is not lower but higher by 40 percentage points. And, says Gillian Terry in the FT, it is not the left of politics that has benefited from these capitalist failures but the right! This is the paradox of … Continue readingLook who has profited from the crash
I can’t believe that Premiership Rugby is seriously considering an offer from CVC, a Private Equity firm (CVC Capital eyes £275m bid for Premiership Rugby). Premiership Rugby is a mutual, owned by its 13 member clubs. Presumably these clubs exist to win rugby matches and, … Continue readingRugby is the next sport threatening to sell its birthright
Two years on from the election of Teresa May, the same old business debates are recycled in the UK. The gap between the pay of directors and employees continues to grow. Productivity remains flat. Investment in research and development is disappointing. The quality of apprenticeships … Continue readingTom Brown’s Work Days
It is easy to criticise the UK’s Financial Reporting Council and the audit firms it monitors. But critics and Sir John Kingman might just pause and consider the context. Firstly – the FRC has no power to act against people who are not accountants. … Continue readingDon’t blame FRC for confusing regulation tangle
Google and Facebook last year between them controlled more than 58% of total US digital advertising spend. Amazon is on course to capture nearly half of America’s e-commerce market in 2018. Decades ago US regulators forced the break up of telecommunications giants with positive … Continue readingThe strong are getting stronger – time for government to act