Made In Britain: Book Review (Part 1)

by Viva Avasthi

Before I read this book I wasn't sure how the British economy plans to sustain itself, considering the fact that we are only just coming out of a double-dip recession and there are always complaints about how little we manufacture compared to China and Germany. Although it is quite clear that Britain had the clear economic advantage over other countries during the times of the British Empire, what Britain has exported after that had been fairly unclear to me, especially since the media portray the image that Britain does not export very much at all.

I found very well-explained answers in Made In Britain, by Evan Davis, which has provided me with an excellent overview of how Britain's economy is structured as well as how it has developed into what it is and what the outlook for Britain's future is.

The book is made of four main sections, and I will be stating my opinions on what the most interesting and relevant ideas in each section were. Please note that I will only be giving summaries and so I highly recommend that you read the book for yourself for a more detailed explanation of the ideas I mention. This review has been split into three parts and the first part stops at the end of half of the book. The second part of the book review covers Part 3: Intellectual Property and the third part of the review covers Part 4: Services.

End of the Eurozone Crisis?

by Karina Shooter

An announcement has been made by Mario Draghi, the President of the European Central Bank, which could potentially mark a major turning point in the Eurozone crisis. Draghi announced that the European Central Bank (ECB) promises to provide unlimited support to troubled Eurozone countries such as Spain and Italy.

Mario Draghi  Photograph by Mario Vedder/dapd/AP Photo

Draghi's plan is to remove the limit on the number of bonds that the ECB can buy from governments in troubled countries, which would cut those countries' borrowing costs. However there is a catch - Nations would first have to request help from the ECB as well as accept new conditions including an austerity clause. This may cause problems for countries such as Spain, where riots continue at the prospect of a bailout.

Although markets soared when the announcement was made, critics from the German Central Bank say that Draghi's plan is not a long term solution and is just propping up governments.

The announcement has taken away some major question marks about who's responsibility it is to support the Euro when it is under pressure. Governments have failed at this task, and it is now the ECB's turn to see if they can offer the protection and insurance that the Euro badly needs.

Following this announcemnt, one thing is for certain, I definitely won't be making any bets that the PIIGS (Portugual, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain) will default on their debts or bail out of the Euro any time soon.

The LIBOR rate scandal - Is Barclays solely to blame?

by Karina Shooter

On Friday, Barclays announced that Anthony Jenkins would be Bob Diamond's successor as CEO. It seems that months after the LIBOR scandal broke out, Barclays is still the only bank whose public reputation is being destroyed - Barclays shares have plummeted by over half compared to its peak rates before the scandal. But is Barclays solely to blame for fixing the LIBOR rate? 

Barclays shame: Boss Bob Diamond has given up his bonus after the bank was hit by a £290m fine. Picture courtesy of thisismoney.co.uk

Communism vs. Capitalism

by Charlotte Wright

Communism and capitalism provide two very different ways of life. Is one better than the other?

An interesting opinion!