John Kay http://www.johnkay.com/ John Kay is one of Britain's leading economists en-gb Sat, 4 Jul 2009 12:07:19 +0100 Financial info@johnkay.com 600 Is insurance worth paying for? Probably Think probabilities and be detached. It's hard advice to follow. That is why the financial services industry is better off than its customers. general http://www.johnkay.com/general/620 Sat, 04 Jul 2009 09:00:00 GMT Britain has sunk itself deep into a fiscal black hole In practice, the only successful method of reducing public spending as a share of GDP has been to impose tight curbs while the economy is growing rapidly. We shall be lucky if such an opportunity appears. politics http://www.johnkay.com/politics/619 Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:00:00 GMT How to stay safe when doing-it-yourself The return on your portfolio is the aggregate of the returns on individual securities: the risk on your portfolio is not the aggregate of the risk of individual securities. With the aid of diversification you can earn more return with less risk. general http://www.johnkay.com/general/618 Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:00:00 GMT How a television monopoly ended in mediocrity A licence-fee-based BBC was the guarantor of quality television in a monopoly market. But a licence-fee-based BBC is now the main obstacle to quality television in a competitive market. politics http://www.johnkay.com/politics/615 Wed, 24 Jun 2009 09:00:00 GMT Why every 2 per cent makes a difference to your pension Having seen off the taxman, you must see off the sharks of the financial services industry. general http://www.johnkay.com/general/617 Sat, 20 Jun 2009 09:00:00 GMT The slow drip of the ‘faster’ payments system Regulatory agencies often come to see their functions through the eyes of those they regulate. The label for this process is regulatory capture. politics http://www.johnkay.com/politics/614 Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:00:00 GMT Beauty in markets is best judged by the beholder Once loans can be bought and sold, what matters is not their soundness but their price – with the predictable consequences of instability and price fluctuations far in excess of any reasonable assessment of underlying change in fundamental value. finance http://www.johnkay.com/finance/613 Wed, 10 Jun 2009 09:00:00 GMT Salutary lessons from the downfall of a carmaker The decline of GM is as instructive as its rise. The challenge of how to reconcile professional management with a culture of innovation remains for ever a central issue for management thinkers. decisions http://www.johnkay.com/decisions/612 Wed, 03 Jun 2009 09:00:00 GMT Why ‘too big to fail’ is too much for us to take Liberal democracies of the modern world based on lightly regulated capitalism acknowledge two mechanisms of accountability – the marketplace and the ballot box. politics http://www.johnkay.com/politics/611 Wed, 27 May 2009 09:00:00 GMT Beware bail-out kings and backbench barons Power is a duty, not a prize, is probably the most important reason why some countries in the world are rich and others poor. The point needs to be brought home in equal measure to legislators, chief executives and bankers. politics http://www.johnkay.com/politics/610 Wed, 20 May 2009 09:00:00 GMT