27th July 2012 Washington DC, USA
As the UK Government’s Chief Economist in the US, one of the things people ask me about most frequently is the Olympics. This line of discussion comes from all kinds of angles – which restaurants should people visit, what will the weather be like? But one of the most tantalising questions has to be from […]
27th July 2012
Trade and development. In the UK, it’s a single subject. Just take two examples. First, the UK’s trade policy unit is staffed by officials from both the Department of Business and the Department for International Development. Second, whilst two-thirds of the UK’s Trade and Investment White Paper is about boosting UK exports and attracting more […]
Read more on It's Trade AND Development, Not Trade OR Development | Reply
27th July 2012 Warsaw, Poland
Anyone who has experienced one knows that British Summers are GREAT. Not necessarily the weather but the programme – Ascot, Wimbledon, the British Grand Prix, Henley….and this year the Greatest, Biggest, Best, global sporting icon which starts today the Olympic Games – London 2012. We know the opening ceremony this evening is going to be […]
17th July 2012 Washington DC, USA
The Boston area is home to many of the most famous sites of America’s break from Britain – the Old State House, where the royal governors sat; the Old North Church that launched Paul Revere’s famous ride; the harbour where the first tea party took place; and battlefields like Bunker Hill, Lexington and Concord where […]
Read more on An Ambassador’s perspective: Boston knows innovation | Reply (1)
11th July 2012 Warsaw, Poland
This is a call for mid-size British business to take a closer look at Poland. Are you a mid-size business? Are you a mid-size business which makes something… something which adds value? If so I really want to hear from you. It’s dead easy to come and see me. If you are already doing business […]
Read more on More British exports in Poland? Bring it on! | Reply (1)
20th June 2012
Some commentators have argued that the UK can’t keep blaming Europe for our economic challenges. These trouble me and I want to correct some of claims that I’ve read. First, the claim that our trade with Europe isn’t significant, and thus doesn’t have an impact on our economic growth. Europe is Britain’s largest trading partner, […]
Read more on Britain’s Prosperity – our focus is both at home and on Europe. It’s not either or. | Reply
30th May 2012
Why buying a second-hand jag puts you in good, competitive company… In the business pages of this Sunday’s Washington Post, Michael Lennox asked whether an aspiring global competitor from a developing economy could use the acquisition of an established Western business to grow its earnings and diversify. Michael’s case in point was Tata’s acquisition in 2008 of […]
30th May 2012 Islamabad, Pakistan
It is 6.30 am Saturday morning in Lahore, the room service waiter points at the TV news and says “that’s you”. I agree that it is, as footage plays of a meeting I had the day before with Nawaz Sharif, PML-N political leader and twice former Prime Minister of Pakistan, and, Shabaz Sharif, his brother […]
Read more on Lahore: Vibrant, changing and modern | Reply (2)
25th May 2012 USA
Chicago isn’t an easy city to impress. The undisputed commercial capital of the US Midwest (an economic area comparable in weight to Germany), the second US financial centre after New York, and President Obama’s home town, it is used to high level attention. But even The City Of Broad Shoulders paused for thought when confronted […]
Read more on Big Business: The Prime Minister in the Windy City | Reply
17th May 2012 Washington DC, USA
It isn’t every day that you walk out of your house to find 10,000 people on your lawn. But on Saturday, for EU Embassy Open House day, that is what happened to me. From the time gates opened at 10:00—with quite a queue already formed—until they closed at 4:00, a steady stream of visitors turned […]