1. Will there be a British Business Bank? (BBC)
Following the leak of Vince Cable’s letter to the Chancellor, and the Treasury acknowledging that he was overruled, Robert Peston asks, “what is the state of play on the government’s ambition to correct the perceived lack of credit for small and medium-sized businesses?”
2. Recalculating Romney’s Four Percent Gimmick (The Cato Institute)
Christopher Preble takes a look, from a hard-libertarian angle, at Mitt Romney’s promise to spend 4 per cent of GDP on the military.
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3. Can Matter succeed? (Reuters)
Felix Salmond looks at innovative new journalism startup Matter, and debates whether or not it has a chance.
4. Knights, damsels, and tax-advantaged debt buybacks (FT alphaville)
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Lisa Pollack explains exactly what the dodgy tax deal that sparked Barclay’s wrist-slapping from HMRC involved, saying, “It’s as if the Knights dressed up as Damsels and rescued themselves.”
5. Scale models (Free Exchange)
The Economist explains the importance of transport costs and returns to scale in looking at where future economic activity is likely to end up.