George Soros: rocketing oil price is a bubble

Speculators are largely responsible for driving crude prices to their peaks in recent weeks and the record oil price now looks like a bubble, George Soros has warned.
The billionaire investor’s comments came only days after the oil price soared to a record high of $135 a barrel amid speculation that crude could soon be catapulted [...]

Free enterprise in Europe hangs on Ireland’s EU vote

For 700 years Ireland was Britain’s outer defence – nolens volens – against the great powers of continental Europe.
By a twist of fate, the Irish must now cast the ballot on the EU constitution for both islands, since Labour has defaulted on its pledge for a British referendum.
Our shared Anglo-Celtic culture has long been a [...]

Look ahead, not back when investing

Many investors are drawn to buy funds that sit at or near the top of the performance league tables. But as the small print of adverts warns, performance can be a poor guide to prospects.
Investors who flocked to buy technology funds in 1999 and 2000 suffered badly as the bubble burst.
More recently, savers pumped billions [...]

Treasury ‘must end fuel tax plan’

Business leaders have called on the Treasury to scrap plans to introduce a 2p increase in fuel tax in the Autumn as the price at the pump surges.
The British Chamber of Commerce said businesses were being pushed “to the absolute edge” by the costs.
The comments came as the price of a barrel of oil reached [...]

How best to approach banks for credit facillities

The Telegraph’s Doctor Biz -  Guy Rigby provides advice on how best to approach banks for credit facillities.
Q: I run a small, but fast growing distribution business and I rely on my bank for support. Given the widely reported credit crisis, should I be worried about the renewal of my facilities?
A: There is certainly [...]

Look ahead, not back when investing

Many investors are drawn to buy funds that sit at or near the top of the performance league tables. But as the small print of adverts warns, performance can be a poor guide to prospects.
Investors who flocked to buy technology funds in 1999 and 2000 suffered badly as the bubble burst.
More recently, savers pumped billions [...]

Alistair Darling’s peace offer in attempt to halt the tax exodus

Alistair Darling will this week offer an olive branch to multinationals in an attempt to head off a threatened corporate exodus from Britain.
He will try to defuse a row over the taxation of foreign profits by insisting Treasury reforms are not intended as a revenue-raising measure.
Darling will also indicate that the government is willing to [...]

Mervyn King’s insight on small business

Governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King caused much excitement on Tuesday when he attacked the “excesses” of the City of London and its culture of bonuses tied to short-term targets.
But in the coverage that followed his statements to the Treasury Select Committee, little has been made of his disclosure that he has been [...]