Latest news with #Grieve
CNBC
2 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Bank of England holds rates steady, but a summer cut could still be in the cards
The Bank of England kept its key interest rate on hold at 4.25% during its Thursday meeting, with economists expecting the central bank to wait until August before it cuts again. Six out of nine of the BOE's monetary policy committee opted to hold rates with three opting for a cut. The policymakers' decision to hold rates comes after the latest data out Wednesday showed the U.K.'s annual inflation rate reached 3.4% in May, meeting analyst expectations but lingering far above the bank's target of 2%. Earlier this year, the Bank of England said that it expects inflation to rise to 3.7% in the third quarter, before starting to cool into next year. It nevertheless still doesn't know the outcome of U.S. President Donald Trump's global tariffs policy, and with conflict erupting in Middle East, inflationary pressures could rise. Those pressures, coupled with lackluster U.K. growth after a 0.3% economic contraction in April, put the central bank in a difficult position on whether — and when — to cut rates. "The bank last month divided 5 [MPC members] to 4 over the decision to cut rates a little, and the majority were very much seeing the economy slowing down and the threat of a faster slow down if tariffs and other U.S. policy seep through the economy, so that is the worry," John Gieve, former deputy governor of the Bank of England, told CNBC on Wednesday. "The question was, 'Should we cut now or wait a little bit?' That was the way they were looking at it [then]," he added. "The Middle East conflict complicates things further. Firstly, it could have an effect on oil prices which could push inflation up even further ... and, secondly, it could be disruptive to the world economy and to trade, which again would be a downward pressure on our growth, so that's precisely where the bank is right now," he told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe." Economists polled by Reuters widely expect BOE policymakers to cut rates by 25 basis points (bps) at the next gathering in August, and to make a trim of another 25 bps in the fourth quarter. Grieve said the confluence of external, uncontrollable and potentially inflationary pressures — along with the domestic outlook for growth, taxation and spending — made it hard to predict the BOE's strategy. "What the bank and markets are expecting is that interest rates will edge down to 4% or perhaps a little bit lower the rest of the year unless there's a really big development on the world stage, but we don't know how this conflict in the Middle East will play out, and we don't know how tariffs ... are going to play out. So [Bank of England policymakers] are going to have watch things month by month," Grieve said.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Alan Grieve, ‘entrepreneur philanthropist' who set up the Jerwood Foundation to finance arts causes
Alan Grieve, who has died aged 97, was a solicitor who in 1977 established the philanthropic Jerwood Foundation for John Jerwood, and ran it as chairman after his client's death in 1991, transforming it from a little-known foundation making donations mainly in the fields of music and education, to an ubiquitous force in the arts world; he described himself as an 'entrepreneur philanthropist'. Grieve was 30 when the senior partner of Taylor & Humbert, his Gray's Inn law firm, asked him to look after a 'tricky client' – tricky because he was based in Tokyo. John Jerwood was a British businessman who had made his fortune in the postwar years exploiting Japan's monopoly over the cultured-pearl industry. He was married to a Japanese woman but they had no children. Grieve travelled the world for Jerwood, becoming his solicitor, business adviser and confidant. In the mid-1970s he was given power of attorney to create a charitable foundation, which Jerwood ran for 14 years as a personal fiefdom. When Jerwood died in 1991, Grieve took control of an organisation with huge assets, and over the next two decades invested shrewdly to treble their value. Meanwhile, he set the foundation on a firm path of cultural philanthropy, building and adorning galleries, libraries, playhouses, dance studios and rehearsal spaces, and funding student bursaries and prizes ranging from drawing to dance. In the mid-1990s, when the Royal Court Theatre was on the brink of closure due to safety concerns, Grieve offered £3 million to help rebuild it, though he dismissed as 'absolute nonsense' press suggestions that he had insisted the theatre be renamed the 'Jerwood Royal Court' until Buckingham Palace vetoed the idea. Soon afterwards came Jerwood Space, a project involving the conversion of a Victorian school in Southwark into a nest of dance and drama rehearsal studios operating on what Grieve calls the 'Robin Hood principle', with rents calibrated according to what clients could afford, along with an art gallery that soon established itself as a focus for hip shows of contemporary painting. By keeping the core of the foundation small – with just three council members, supported by a select advisory council of experts, including Grieve's daughter Amanda, Lady Harlech, the fashion muse and director of Chanel – he ensured that it remained both flexible and independent, able to cut through or avoid the red tape that is the bane of projects involving public funding. For the Jerwood Space project, Grieve made his one and only application for a grant from the National Lottery. He was successful, but kept the money for only a matter of weeks: 'I realised that the Arts Council would want to bear in on me, tell me I hadn't done this or that. So I rang up Gerry Robinson [then chairman of Arts Council England] and asked to whom I should make the cheque out. I think you'd say he was taken aback.' Other capital schemes included the Jerwood Library of the Performing Arts at Trinity College of Music (now Trinity Laban) when it moved to the Royal Naval College, Greenwich; the Jerwood Gallery at the Natural History Museum; the Jerwood Library at Trinity Hall, Cambridge; the Jerwood Sculpture Park at Witley Court, Worcestershire; the Jerwood Centre for the prevention and treatment of dance injuries at the Hippodrome, home of Birmingham Royal Ballet; the Jerwood Centre at Wordsworth Trust, Grasmere; and the Jerwood Hall at the London Symphony Orchestra's music centre, St Luke's, built in the shell of a Hawksmoor church in north London. Grieve's particular passion was British art of the 20th century, and in 1994 he oversaw the founding of the £30,000 Jerwood painting prize for originality and excellence in painting in the United Kingdom. With the Turner Prize increasingly associated with the wackier end of the art spectrum, before it was phased out in 2004 the Jerwood became the prize many painters most coveted; winners included Craigie Aitchison, Patrick Caulfield, Prunella Clough and Maggi Hambling. At the same time Grieve assembled a collection of British art for the Jerwood Foundation which started with Frank Brangwyn and David Bomberg, and included works by Walter Sickert, Augustus John, Stanley Spencer, Winifred Nicholson, LS Lowry, Christopher Wood, Terry Frost and Keith Vaughan, to which he added the work of Jerwood Painting Prize winners. He spent £1.5 million, never paying more than £100,000 for a work, and set about building a gallery to house the collection. In 2012 the Jerwood Gallery, designed by Hana Loftus and Grieve's son, Tom, from the architecture firm HAT Projects, opened in Hastings; by this time Grieve reckoned the collection was worth around £6 million. The building won a RIBA National Award, but in 2019 the gallery, now Hastings Contemporary, cut ties with the Jerwood Foundation following a funding dispute. The Jerwood Collection of Modern and Contemporary British art is now accessible through a loans and exhibitions programme. Alan Thomas Grieve was born in London on January 22 1928 to Lewis Grieve and Doris, née Amner, and educated at Aldenham School and Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he read law. During National Service he was commissioned in 1949 in the Royal Armoured Corps (14th/20th King's Hussars) and thereafter served in the TA in the City of London Yeomanry (Rough Riders). After a few years as an assistant solicitor at the City law firm Slaughter and May, in 1958 he joined Taylor & Humbert, becoming senior partner in 1980. He then oversaw the firm's merger with Parker Garrett and remained senior partner in the merged firm Taylor Garrett until 1989, when it merged again with Joynson Hicks to become Taylor Joynson Garrett (now Taylor Wessing), of which he became a consultant. Grieve was appointed CBE in 2003. In 1957 Alan Grieve married Anne Dulake, with whom he had two sons and a daughter, Amanda Harlech. The marriage was dissolved, and in 1971 he married Karen de Sivrac Dunn, with whom he had a son and daughter. Alan Grieve, born January 22 1928, died May 14 2025 Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Boston Globe
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Michael Ryan sends Braintree into the postseason with win over BC High in memory of former coach
With runners at the corners with one out in the bottom of the seventh of a tie game, Ryan was elated when his single landed in right field, scoring pinch runner Colin Kasey for a 3-2 nonleague victory over BC High at Monan Park. Braintree was the tournament host, but the games were shifted to the turf at BC High because of wet field conditions. '[Braintree coach Bill O'Connell] told me I might have to bunt,' Ryan said. 'Didn't want to bunt, so I swung. Always wanted to hit a walkoff, so just had to make it happen. I was running down, saw my boys chasing after me. Nothing better. It means everything, especially to coach. It was big for him.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up His base hit was just one of three for the 12th-ranked Wamps (14-8). Advertisement Braintree second baseman Ben Phan dives up the middle to stop a ground ball off the bat of BC High's Wyatt Miller in the fifth inning. Ken McGagh for The Boston Globe No. 10 BC High (11-9) led into the bottom of the sixth before surrendering a run on a throwing error. Matt Rogers tapped a bunt to reliever Adam Bushley, who overthrew third, allowing Connor Grieve to score. Grieve advanced from first to second on a passed ball. 'We had energy all the innings,' Grieve said. 'We knew this was going to be a tough game, coming to BC High, playing them in a big game. I mean, we just wanted to beat a private school. We haven't really won a really big game this year. This was the one.' Advertisement Grieve earned tournament MVP honors by hurling a complete game with two strikeouts. He surrendered six hits, a walk, and two earned runs, but never came off the mound and got the job finished. He was went also 1 for 2 with a single, a walk, a stolen base, and a run. Braintree's Connor Grieve was named tournament MVP with a complete game victory against BC High and also went 1 for 2 with a run scored. Ken McGagh for The Boston Globe Max Bohane led the Eagles with two hits — a double and a single — in three at-bats, and Wyatt Miller and Jackson Richard plated BC High's two runs on singles, respectively. But when Ryan walked it off in the seventh, there was no shortage of emotion on the Braintree side, starting with O'Connell, because of his longstanding relationship with the revered Fredericks, who 'He said he's got trust in me to keep the legacy going that he built,' O'Connell said. 'You know, we're doing it. I think we're doing a decent job with it. Right up to the end, he came and saw us and just wished us well. He said 'Keep it going.' So we decided to do something in his honor.'
The National
07-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
Would the Scottish buffer zones law pass with Donald Trump in power?
But since the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act came into effect, it has attracted unwanted attention from across the Atlantic following the election of Donald Trump as US President. Earlier this year, Vice President JD Vance used a speech to argue Europe was seeing a shift away from democratic values and cited the buffer zones law as way in which the 'basic liberties of religious Britons' were under threat. In an extraordinary intervention, he falsely claimed the Scottish Government distributed letters to people who live within a zone warning them that private prayer 'may amount to breaking the law'. In a separate incident, the US state department said it would be monitoring the case of a woman being prosecuted for the alleged breach of a zone outside a Bournemouth clinic, adding it was concerned about freedom of expression in the UK. It was even reported after this that there were concerns UK protections for abortion clinics could impact a potential trade deal with the US. All of this has led to a big question: would the buffer zones law in Scotland pass now, given the influence and power of the Trump administration? READ MORE: Scottish Government urged to extend Glasgow hospital buffer zone Lucy Grieve and Alice Murray were possibly more astounded than anyone when Vance began talking about a law that came about partly thanks to a campaign called Back Off Scotland that they started from their university bedrooms in 2020. When The National asked them whether they thought the law would pass through Parliament so easily now, they both felt it still would have got the green light but would have faced stronger pushback. Murray said: 'I think it would still pass but there may have been more challenge. 'I think there is a slight ethos that probably does come from Trump that things were going too far for a while in terms of inclusivity and progressiveness. JD Vance used a speech to criticise the buffer zones law in Scotland (Image: Kirsty Wigglesworth) 'At the moment, there is a bit of sense things were getting out of hand and now we need to pull it back and since that [attitude] does exist [maybe there would be push back], but it just depends whether or not people tied this up with that.' Grieve highlighted that given a huge number of people have come off Twitter/X because of the behaviour and comments of owner Elon Musk – who until the last few weeks was a special US government employee – they may also have struggled to raise awareness of their campaign if the law was going through Parliament now. Grieve said: 'I think it would be maybe more difficult [the passage of the law]. Lots of people have come off Twitter and that was a big way we rallied support. 'That's Elon Musk and his extremism that has made a lot of our supporters go off Twitter, so it could have affected things. 'But I think people are very pro-buffer zones because it's such a precise mechanism of balancing [rights].' (Image: PA) And that's why both Grieve and Murray don't feel people in Scotland should be overly worried about abortion rights going backwards as both of them have confidence that society here is in an entirely different place on abortion compared to the US. Murray said: 'There is a bit more of a basic societal response that abortion is healthcare in the UK and it's not an extra add-on.' There is no doubt certain anti-abortion groups such as 40 Days for Life – which has been regularly staging protests outside the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow – have felt emboldened by the interventions of the likes of JD Vance. More than 100 people turned out to a protest just outside the hospital's zone last month. But Grieve and Murray are firmly of the belief that a move like the overturning of Roe v Wade in the US – which meant millions of women lost the right to have an abortion – is never going to occur in these islands. READ MORE: Patrick Harvie: It's time for ministers to stop politicking and investigate Trump Grieve said rights have advanced so much now – with Westminster set to consider decriminalising abortion in England and Wales this summer – anti-abortionists are actually defending the 1967 Abortion Act so as to stop them going any further. 'I think people understand America is so far gone in terms of their abortion rights that they never want to end up like that,' Grieve said. 'I think having buffer zones wrapped up in a conversation about trade deals, as it was reported, I think the very large majority would think that is absolutely crazy, and that there is no place for it. 'I think we're in a place where we are winning in terms of strengthening our reproductive rights in Scotland and the UK and they're [anti-abortionists] in a position where instead of saying they want to revoke them, they are now starting to defend the 1967 Act as the basis of our abortion law because they think decriminalisation is too radical. 'Because the vast majority of abortions are provided or funded by the NHS across the UK, you couldn't turn that off overnight like you could with Roe vs Wade. It is seen as vital here, it's not this random outlier.' Murray added: 'We should have a reasonable amount of worry about Donald Trump's power and influence, but when you look at the work that is done on the ground by abortion activists and when you look at all the positive things that are happening, we shouldn't be too scared about a turn in that direction.'
Glasgow Times
21-04-2025
- Business
- Glasgow Times
Scottish Government has 'no interest' in nightlife culture
Mike Grieve, managing director of Glasgow's iconic Sub Club, said the Scottish Government's treatment of the nightlife industry is lagging behind the rest of the UK, and funding is too challenging for many in the sector to access. Mr Grieve, who chairs the Scottish Night Time Industries Association (SNTIA) and is a director of the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), added that he is working on a Scottish Manifesto for the Night Time Economy due to be published in the coming weeks. Scotland lost more than 30% of its nightclubs in four years. The number of venues dropped from 125 to 83 between June 2020 and June 2024, according to the latest statistics from CGA Neilson. Speaking at a Save The Scene panel for stakeholders in Scotland's nightlife sector, Mr Grieve said: 'The Scottish Government has no interest in any cutting-edge culture. They see culture as that traditional, high culture. The kilts and shortbread culture. They don't actually see what we do as being cultural in the right way.' He added: 'They certainly don't support it financially compared to the rest of the UK.' (Image: Newsquest) Mr Grieve criticised the Scottish Government for not using UK Treasury funding to provide the same level of rates relief to nightclubs in Scotland as is happening with their English counterparts. In the 2024-25 financial year, eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties in England were offered 75% rates relief. From April 1 it was reduced to a 40% discount on business rates bills, capped at £110,00 per business. The UK Government described the move as an interim safeguarding measure until a permanent reform of the business rates system is introduced in 2026. A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said: 'Scotland's hospitality industry benefits from the most generous small business rates relief in the UK, with around half of properties in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors continuing to be eligible for 100% Small Business Bonus Scheme relief. 'The Scottish Budget 2025-26 provides 40% non-domestic rates relief for hospitality premises liable for the Basic Property Rate, including grassroots music venues with a capacity of up to 1,500 people, capped at £110,000 per business.' Hospitality businesses with a rateable value up to and including £51,000 are liable for the Basic Property Rate. This excludes around 2,600 hospitality businesses in Scotland, such as larger venues, with a rateable value above the threshold. In 2025-26, the Scottish Government said it plans to freeze the Basic Property Rate and provide a package of reliefs worth an estimated £731 million. Attendees at the event on April 9, including club promoters, DJs, musicians, sound and light technicians and more, suggested they 'hadn't experienced any effects of government funding' on their practices. Mr Grieve said: 'The reality is, sadly, the funding. What funding there is is inaccessible to people. I doubt there are very many people in this room who would know how to access any funding for any kind of cultural activity. And I think that's almost deliberate in our country. 'Sadly, I think you go to other countries in Europe, they make it easy for people to access whatever funding is there.' Creative Scotland distributes Scottish Government and National Lottery funding for the arts, screen and creative industries in Scotland. It supports the live music sector via its Open Fund. The Open Fund was temporarily closed last year due to budget uncertainty, which led to a major crisis in the arts sector. Creative Scotland is currently under review. A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said: 'We have demonstrated steadfast support for culture and the arts in Scotland, with game-changing increases in funding for the sector. 'The highest ever number of artists and organisations will receive regular funding from Creative Scotland this financial year – including grassroots and community culture as well as the music sector.' Referencing the independent Nightlife Taskforce introduced in London in February and the Dublin City Night-time Economy strategy released in autumn 2024, Mr Grieve said: 'There are other examples around the UK and beyond the UK where nightlife (economic activity that occurs after 6pm) is taken seriously by the government.' There is hope that the forthcoming Scottish version of the NTIA's Darkest Before The Dawn Manifesto could provide a framework that offers key recommendations for policymakers on how best to support Scotland's night-time economy. Mr Grieve said: 'The idea is to produce a strategy for developing nightlife within Scotland, across the board.' He is also working with Glasgow's City Centre Taskforce to produce a nighttime vision for Glasgow city centre.
