Society

Wednesday

David Craig

Can hedge funds live to fight another day?

Hedge Fund Land seems to be in disarray. Investment losses keep mounting up. It would not come as a surprise to hear that fully 70 per cent of these often complex and sophisticated offshore investment vehicles have percentage losses running into double figures over the last year, with a large number down by over 25 per cent. This all seems to point conclusively to the fact that the majority of practitioners are unable to cope with market conditions and have failed to remember Investment Rule 1.01 for confronting losses: ‘Get out, stop losing and live to fight another day.’ The fact that most funds are losing should not be a

Salil Tripathi

If Rushdie deserves free speech, why not Harry?

Salil Tripathi says that the Prince’s remarks were ill chosen and regrettable but the deeper principle concerns freedom of expression and ever greater encroachments upon it First Prince Harry, and then his father, Prince Charles, discovered that last week was their septimana horribilis and that they had both made the kind of gaffes for which the Duke of Edinburgh has gained notoriety. First, a three-year-old home video surfaced in which Harry called a Pakistani cadet ‘our little Paki friend’. And then it was discovered that the heir to the throne routinely calls a polo-playing Asian friend ‘Sooty’. In the multiculturally appropriate times we live in, nothing else matters: not the

James Delingpole James Delingpole

I have seen your future, America, and it doesn’t work

On the eve of Barack Obama’s inauguration, James Delingpole says that the President-elect is horribly reminiscent of Tony Blair in 1997. He may be a fantastic guy, and look great, but he will bring a ragbag of scuzzballs, communists and eco-loons to power with him No matter how excited you may be about Barack Obama’s inauguration on Tuesday, I bet you’re not as pleased as I am. Never have I wished more devoutly for a presidential victory than the one won by this mighty intellect-cum-healer-cum-fashion-model-cum-general-all-round-Messiah — a man so conscious of his own merit that, unlike any president before him, he plans to swear his inaugural oath on the Lincoln

Tuesday

Alex Massie Alex Massie

This Britain. Again.

We’re getting used – alas – to the idea that smokers will not be allowed to adopt children (abuse!) but, as always, that proves to be but the beginning, not the end of this sort of thing. To wit, a couple in Leeds have had their application to adopt denied on the grounds that the husband is, wait for it, too fat. Leeds Council writes: I am writing to confirm that we are unable to progress an application from you at this time. This is due to the concerns that the medical advisers have expressed regarding Mr Hall’s weight. I have discussed this with our medical adviser… who considers that

Alex Massie Alex Massie

“Socialism in one clause”?

Peter Hoskin is right to be suspicious of the government’s latest ploy: mandating that all public bodies have a statutory duty to narrow the gap between rich and poor. As you might expect Polly Toynbee is tickled a deepish shade of red by the notion. Nonetheless, consider this snippet from her column today: Poor children might need to have much more spent on their education per head than the better-off do. Sure Start toddlers might need more funds than older children. It might mean local lotteries to see that all children get equal access to the best schools. It’s a myth, of course, that simply ploughing more money into schools

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Campaign Books

The first book-length accounts of the campaign will be out shortly. Ian Leslie’s book To Be President arrived this morning and my friend Mike Crowley’s “graphic diary” (drawings by Dan Goldman) of the campaign is also published this month. It will, I’m sure, be entertaining even if, unaccountably, I haven’t received a copy yet…

Peter Hoskin

The Gazan conflict is no Holocaust

Last week, James highlighted Daniel Finkelstein’s thoughtful, and thought-provoking, article on the Gazan conflict.  Today, Danny follows it up with a blog post outlining some of the repsonses he’s received.  I’d certainly recommend you read the whole thing, but this passage makes an especially crucial point for/about those who criticise Israel’s actions by bringing up the Holocaust: “The comparison [between Israeli actions in Gaza and] the Holocaust has only ceased surprising me because it is now so common. It is, nevertheless, shameful. The Nazis were attempting to exterminate all Jews. They established death camps to achieve their objectives, gassing men women and children simply to be rid of them. However

Peter Hoskin

Cameron takes on the “headless chickens” of government

Seems like Cameron’s debuted a new riposte to Brown’s “do-nothing” charge – accusing the government of behaving like “headless chickens”.  Here’s the Tory leader in his interview with the FT today: “The Tory leader’s anger with the prime minister appears genuine. Mr Cameron has been stung by Mr Brown’s lampooning of the Tories’ ‘do-nothing’ approach to the recession. Accusing the government of behaving like ‘headless chickens . . . confusing activity with action’, he insisted that his party had been ‘pretty fast out of the box’ in adapting its economic strategy to reflect the downturn.” Could it stick?  Well, here’s a revealing little snippet in Philip Stephens’ article, elsewhere in the FT, that may

Peter Hoskin

Equality overdrive

Over at his blog, Paul Waugh’s got the lowdown on one of the day’s most intriguing stories.  To summarise: the Government’s latest White Paper (availiable here) contains a proposal from Harriet Harman that all public bodies be legally obliged to narrow the gap between rich and poor.  Here it is, from page 10 of the document: “Given the important role that public policies and services play in supporting individuals to make the most of their talents, we will consider legislating to make clear that tackling socio-economic disadvantage and narrowing gaps in outcomes for people from different backgrounds is a core function of key public services.” I suspect I’m not alone

James Forsyth James Forsyth

The cost of the US deficit

Obama might be right that there is no alternative to the US running “trillion-dollar deficits”. But the $1.7 trillion deficit, its likely size in 2009, is truly alarming. Consider these comparisons that Kevin Hassett provides: “The whole world’s military spending in 2006 totalled a little less than $1.2 trillion. So next year’s U.S. deficit could cover that and still have $500 billion left over for building bridges. Perhaps the most disturbing comparison is this one: When President George W. Bush was first elected, total federal government spending was about $1.7 trillion. In other words, the difference between federal outlays and federal revenue this year will be bigger than the entire

Daniel Korski

Who’s afraid of Shirin?

When people are asked who their heroes are, you can expect to find someone like Nelson Mandela or Aung San Suu Kyi topping of the final tally. Indeed, two years ago, 150 MPs voted the anti-apartheid campaigner as their biggest political hero. But the name Shirin Ebadi is usually absent from the equation. Yet today, Mrs. Ebadi, an Iranian lawyer, human rights activist and (the first female Muslim) Nobel laureate deserves to be high on anyone’s list. The Nobel committee singled Mrs Ebadi out for promoting human rights and democracy in Iran. It also paid tribute to her courage, noting that she had “never heeded the threat to her own

Monday

Alex Massie Alex Massie

Annals of Punditry

Lord knows, we all blunder from time to time. Still, this is pretty impressive: “Each year, in my last Economic View before Christmas, I try to shed some light on economic events of the previous 12 months by comparing what has actually happened with expectations published here in early January. This year, even more than usual, reading back through January’s predictions has been a shock. Almost all have turned out to be wrong”. Anatole Kaletsky, The Times, 18/12/06.“My last article of every year looks back on the predictions I made in early January to shed some light on the economic and financial events of the previous 12 months. This tends

Alex Massie Alex Massie

The Countdown Conundrum

Since I live-blogged a darts match, I’m in no position to chuck rocks, but can I just point out that the Guardian is live-blogging Jeff Stelling’s debut as presenter of Countdown*. New media; new rules I guess. As a friend says “This makes me happy!” And so it should. *Note to American readers: a long-running tea-time letters and numbers quiz show popular with pensioners, students and the bedridden.

Peter Hoskin

Times / Populus has the Tories 10 points clear

A second opinion poll for the New Year, then, and another which suggests that the Brown bounce is over and that things may be swinging the way of the Tories.  Here are the headline results from the Populus number in the Times: Conservatives — 43 percent (up 4) Labour — 33 percent (down 2) Lib Dems — 15 percent (down 2) More progress for the Tories in some of the below-headline findings.  Brown and Cameron are tied, 37 percent each, on the question of who is the best leader to deal with the recession – Brown led 52-32 a couple of months back.  And Cameron leads Brown 42-31 on which

James Forsyth James Forsyth

Obama will gain from honouring McCain

In a classy gesture, Barack Obama is holding an inaugural eve dinner to honour John McCain. (There are other dinners that night for Colin Powell and Joe Biden). But it is also smart politics, as it costs Obama little and gains him much. McCain is a genuine American hero and the evening will be seen, and is presumably intended to be seen, as a sign that Obama is moving from being the candidate of one party to the president of the whole country. McCain isn’t going to run for president again and his support for various initiatives—think immigration reform and climate change legislation—would give them a pleasing bi-partisan sheen. The

Peter Hoskin

Great poster, Dave – but you may be missing an opportunity

Fraser’s right: the Tories’ new poster campaign really is superb. Highlighting the damage that Gordon Brown’s debt binge will wreak on future generations is an important – and resonant – cause.  And the emotive image and slogan that the Tories’ ad men have paired together should tap successfully into the parental voting bloc. But therein also lies a problem.  Campaigns about debt are all too often geared at those with – or those with hope of having – children.  As I argued in the Telegraph a few weeks ago, this is a missed opportunity.  Among those most imperilled by Brown’s economic management are the 20-somethings who aren’t yet thinking about kids – they’re

James Forsyth James Forsyth

A disaster waiting to happen?

There’s some tough competition but Pakistan is probably the scariest foreign policy problem the world faces. It is where the issues of weak states, Islamic extremism, nuclear weapons and terrorism all come together. Considering Britain’s ties to the place it is a problem that should cause particular concern here. If you doubt how big a problem Pakistan is, read David Sanger’s excellent piece on the safety, or otherwise, of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal in The New York Times magazine. Here is the key section: ‘By now Obama has almost surely been briefed about an alarming stream of intelligence that began circulating early last year to the top tier of George W.