Will the coup in #Niger be the final prompt that will drive #African 'solutions' to African problems?
Nesrine Malik concludes:
'Amid stale cold war framings, western military calculations about jihadist contagion & fretting about loss of influence on the part of ex-colonial powers... [it may now be] clear that Africa’s stability will be... on its own terms & through its own mechanisms, once it faces its worst fears & opts for self-preservation'!
Lets hope she's right
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Yes, good point - wouldn't be the first time such a disparity has come out of a single department!
Looking at data on #consumer spending (provided by Barclaycard), it looks like while many sectors are recovery, despite the #costoflivingcrisis continuing, for #hospitality (and specifically #restaurants) there has been no recovery, just more decline;
certainly round here 3 restaurants are up for sale (and have been for a while) suggesting there is a shake-out taking place in the eating out market, drive by a shift in how the cash-strapped are spending their money...
Does UK's Department of Energy Security & Net Zero actually know what its doing?
On the one hand (as previously noted) it's expanded it supply of #carbon #emissions licences, leading UK's 'carbon market' to see a major drop in price(s);
On the other, in internal documents guiding policy it assumes a carbon price at nearly four times this level to make #renewableenergy look comparatively cheap(er) in analysis of policy.
Inconsistency or a internal disagreement about the direction of policy?
Across #China, land is be re-purposed, or returned, to #agriculture to deal with China's fears around a lack of #foodsecurity.
Of course, this is being done be directive & has disrupted many local/regional economies by the swift shift in land use.
But perhaps more interesting is the political driver behind such moves;
is China preparing for sanctions against it medium-term?
Is it a response to the #climatecrisis in its food #supplychain or a recognition of a forthcoming #shipping crisis?
[Not sure of this is genuine or a mock-up, but it made me smile on a #Mondaymorning in any case - circulated at the other place]
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Yes, that would be true, but they are likely starting from a model that sees finance stemming from either Venture Capitalists or from other pre-IPO sources (family etc.).
The FT is also most concerned about large firms using free-cash on interest payments rather than to invest - which they see as a key issue....
Of course, most start-ups don't make a profit so tax-relief on corporation tax is hardly an issue that is at the forefront of entrepreneurs' minds
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Its a crowded corner... and often for good reason!
FT's discussion of possible futures for UK #taxes has now moved to #corporationtax.
Their preferred position is to retain the 'full expensing' for #investment (all costs of investment can be deducted from #tax), while removing allowances for interest payments on #debt.
The hope is this will shift firms' attention from loans to internally funded investment to help deal with the UK's #productivity problem.
It also plays to the FT's overall position on tax simplification!
Might make sense?
The FCA's campaign to rid the country of payday lenders & other firms charging extortionate #interestrates to those the #banks wont touch (& of course I'm not talking about #NigelFarage here), has helped out another sub-sector: #pawnbrokers.
It seems with the decline of a significant number of debt-predators, the pawnbroking sector is booming.
Unfortunately this tells us more about the desperation among the vulnerable in #tory Britain, than the happy success of financial regulation!
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errr... you don't need a remedy if you rights haven't been violated; the 'if' here is merely noting there are specific instances when you need remedy.... not anything that makes any of these rights conditional
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yes, that may be my national myopia.... its just it was very obvious that management (operating in the UK) from other countries doesn't suffer as badly from these problems
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yes, that was a really interesting column in the FT
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Ah yes, but you can at least switch them off.... on the toxicity of English managers see this I wrote for nostr:npub1yepk8n2nca8e5md0zclgc8kn8egf0kg7al0w3q3ruh7rfmyplvfq3wrqsz
https://northwestbylines.co.uk/business/whos-responsible-for-reduced-productivity/
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Nothing is impossible, but we do need to have the will... & that has been (often) beaten out of us
Will Hutton is right, only be really understanding the damage we have wrought to our own economy, can we begin to formulate a strategy for recovery:
'Britain has to start thinking of itself not as a rich industrial country but as a poor country facing first-order economic development challenges. Large parts of the UK are scarcely better off than middle-income developing countries, and on current trends are about to get poorer'!
We need a national rethink!
#GTTO
Chris Riddell (Observer) sums up my view(s) one this week #GDP announcement....
#workingfromhome is most popular in the Anglo-Saxon #capitalist countries - US/UK/Canada - and less so in the EU...
Perhaps this is linked to the toxicity of English-speaking #managers, who the #WFH are seeking to distance themselves from, or issues of transport & #childcare.
WFH however welcome, may also have some unwelcome impacts around #innovation & interpersonal engagement.
But the answer does not lie in forcing people to get bak into the office
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Aha, no - looks like something to allocates some time to...thanks
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Excellent point on the everyday practice of #democracy & its demise... where it happens (in community projects etc.) its now coded as localism not democracy... allowing national and local aspects of democracy to diverge