Business leaders put UK on Olympic trial By Brian Groom, Chris Giles and George Parker "The worldâs top business leaders are using their visit to the London Olympics to raise tough questions about the coalitionâs management of Britainâs stagnant economy and the countryâs vulnerability to a euro break-up. "While David Cameron is trying to use the games as a showcase to boost UK trade and investment, chief executives from the US and Asia â many of them big investors in Britain â are privately voicing anxiety at the state of the economy." More: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/87a66468-d7f4-11e1-9980-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2223jXqBc
www.ft.com > World > U.K. > Politics & Policy By Brian Groom, Chris Giles and George Parker "The worldâs top business leaders are using their visit to the London Olympics to raise tough questions about the coalitionâs management of Britainâs stagnant economy and the countryâs vulnerability to a euro break-up. "While David Cameron is trying to use the games as a showcase to boost UK trade and investment, chief executives from the US and Asia â many of them big investors in Britain â are privately voicing anxiety at the state of the economy. âCameron is giving us a big sales pitch, but we are not taking any notice of that,â said the head of an Asian multinational. âWe want to know whatâs happening to the economy and what are the prospects for us.â "One US corporate chief called bluntly for the government to change course after last weekâs official figures showed the UK economy shrank 0.7 per cent between April and June. âYou need a short-term fiscal policy to boost demand and a credible long-term plan to address welfare, taxes and the labour market. If you do that, the bond market will be fine,â he said. "As business leaders gathered to watch the games, in which ironically Britainâs industrial past played a major part of the opening ceremony, the chatter in corporate hospitality suites was less about sport, and more about Londonâs competitiveness as a financial centre. One financier, referring to the forced resignation of Bob Diamond, the former Barclays chief executive, said: âWhatâs going on in London? You are killing your bankers.â âBob got shot by the regulators,â added another high-profile executive, expressing concern about pressure exerted by the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority for Mr Diamond to quit. âThere are big implications for London from all of this. When youâre abroad you get a lot of people saying âwho would ever want to work for a British bank?â â "Some of the concerns surfaced publicly at last Thursdayâs global investment conference at Lancaster House in London, where Mr Cameron faced awkward questions about airport expansion and immigration in front of 200 business leaders and policy makers. "Government officials say there was a âsolid, constructiveâ atmosphere at a series of meetings and that it is right for Britain to use the Olympics as a trade opportunity, even if the benefits are hard to define at this stage. The government hopes to win £1bn in UK trade deals from conferences at Lancaster House, converted into a British Business Embassy for the Olympics. So far, Jaguar Land Rover â part of Indiaâs Tata industrial group â has announced 1,100 more car-making jobs in the Midlands. "But the executivesâ worries may increase pressure on George Osborne, the chancellor, who told the conference he would resist âsiren voicesâ calling for a change of economic course. "Many are preoccupied by the eurozone crisis and its implications for the UK. âWhat is Britain going to do? What is the plan?â asked one international policy maker. âWhy is Britain not being more proactive?â "Additional reporting by Patrick Jenkins "
Should instead be entitled "Business leaders to Cameron: stfu and give us some $$, we promise to spend on the people." For all the rallying Ricter does again corporations being greedy and not passing the bucks on to the public, he sure does support giving them more government play money. Ricter, do you honestly think those business leaders are pushing Cameron to go into "shovel ready" projects? Of course they aren't. They're trying to convince him to spend in their sectors.
"American Enterprise Institute: U.S. Austerity Measures Hurting Broader Economy Posted: 07/30/2012 1:12 pm Updated: 07/30/2012 1:12 pm "Austerity lovers of the world take note: Cutting government spending hurts the economy and it's not just the Paul Krugmans of the world that say so. "The American Enterprise Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank, has some data out indicating that cutting government spending may be off-setting private sector growth. That's notable, especially when coming from an organization with the motto "Freedom. Opportunity. Enterprise." "Public sector GDP -- a measure of the goods and services produced by the government -- has shrunk for eight consecutive quarters, according to AEI. At the same time, private sector growth has increased for 12 quarters in a row, indicating that Americaâs slow overall GDP growth may mostly be a result of a drop in government spending. "In just the last year, federal spending has fallen more than 3 percent, and the cuts may be countering private-sector growth, the Wall Street Journal reports. "The findings show that slashing government spending may not exactly be the best way to boost the economy, even though thatâs exactly what lawmakers around the world are considering. That some of the data comes from conservative-leaning AEI adds fuel to the arguments of progressive economists, who argue that painful austerity measures donât help economies in trouble; they hurt them. "The findings also do some to discredit conservative economists like Mitt Romney advisor Glenn Hubbard, who argue that cutting federal spending would boost a lagging economy. "Of course, not everyone in Washington fears austerity. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner argued earlier this month that the looming âfiscal cliffâ -- a combination of tax increases and spending cuts that are set to go into effect at the end of the year -- would not actually do âa lot of damageâ to the U.S. economy if Congress didn't take action to stop it. "President Obama took heat in June when he told reporters that the private sector is âdoing just fineâ in an aim to pressure congressional Republicans to help fund struggling state and local governments. Left-leaning economist Paul Krugman said that while Obama âbungled the line,â he was right to note that whatâs hurting the recovery are cuts to the public sector. "But concerns over cuts to government spending aren't just an American problem. Across the Atlantic in Greece, leaders agreed to a package of spending cuts demanded by its creditors, even as the country struggles with high unemployment. " http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/...t-spending_n_1719675.html?utm_hp_ref=business
Maybe these dumbfvcks should look up the definition of austerity before they open their stupid traps. aus·ter·i·ty (ô-str-t) n. pl. aus·ter·i·ties 1. The quality of being austere. 2. Severe and rigid economy: wartime austerity. 3. An austere habit or practice. self-denial, self-discipline - the trait of practicing self discipline