Faisal Islam has left Channel 4 News. This is an archive of his blogs.
Two-and-a-half million people are now unemployed while the number of young people out of work soars to one of its highest levels in another bad blow to Britain’s delicate economy, writes Faisal Islam.
Initially I have to confess that I had presumed that the Educational Maintenance Allowance must be a £30 a week bribe likely to be used to download X factor music for near-feral youths. Probably to play through loudspeakers and annoy me on my local bus.
As students continue to protest against cuts to education spending, Faisal Islam asks whether all over-60s need the Winter Fuel Allowance.
Our Economics Editor looks at what today’s World Cup decisions tell us about Britain’s place in a fast-changing world.
JP Morgan, the man of the 1920s, rather than today’s super-bank, insisted in the 1920s capped executive pay at 20 times the pay of junior bank employees, “arguing that any greater would be harmful to company morale.” Plato argued that no citizen should be worth four times another. Successful US firms such as Wholefoods and Ben & Jerry’s have had maximum pay multiples of 7:1 and 8:1. So should we care about pay inequality, the ballooning gap between the salaries of top and bottom earners?
Not content with causing turmoil in the normal functioning of global diplomacy, Mr Assange rather candidly pointed out that the next major target for a “megaleak” of tens of thousands of documents was a “major US bank”.
Faisal Islam lists the key points from the Office for Budget Responsibility’s revised forecasts for the UK economy.
In the bailout package agreed for Ireland by EU finance minister today, senior bondholders in Irish banks are 100 per cent safe.
Almost entirely, the institutions that lent money to the RBSs and HBoSs and Northern Rocks, and the Irish banks, that was then mislent, have got away scot free. But according to this Irish Times article, the IMF and EU might be about to change things with a “bail-in” of such creditors.
As Ireland hears the austerity measures that are part of the condition of its European bail-out, Faisal Islam blogs on the wrecked economy which sees Paddy Power become the most valuable financial institution in Ireland.
The Irish government prepares to publish a 15bn euro plan for drastic savings amid financial crisis. Economics Editor Faisal Islam looks at what is at stake for Ireland’s political class.
Usually, a nation which has applied for a bailout will easily pass an austere Budget. But in Ireland, it’s rather more complicated, writes Faisal Islam from Dublin.
Our Economics Editor reflects on yesterday’s tumultuous events in Dublin and warns of an unpredictable time ahead for Ireland and Europe.
Ireland’s premier Brian Cowen rules out rushing through emergency economic measures, as financial experts tell Channel 4 News that the Irish bailout could lead to more splits in the Eurozone.
Some details of the spending cuts are emerging. A 10 per cent cut in social welfare payments, a €1 cut to the minimum wage, 28,000 public sector job cuts have all been concretely reported here in Dublin.