Urban renewal needs no grand plans

(Next Magazine, 2015/5/14, A002, Second Opinion, Bill Stacey) Urban renewal needs no grand plans Walk from Kennedy Town to Causeway Bay and you can see our town slowly being transformed. Street by street, block by block, old buildings are being refurbished and new, modern, functional buildings are rising on narrow sliversContinue reading>

Euthanasia of the middle-class

(Next Magazine, 2015/4/16, A002, Second Opinion, Bill Stacey) Euthanasia of the middle-class HSBC was once a small start-up. Early pictures from 1871 show the founding General Manager, Victor Kresser, surrounded by a small group of half a dozen western clerks. Even as late as 1928, the vital local Chinese staffs wereContinue reading>

Tiger by the Tail

Tiger by the Tail(2015/3/12) (Next Magazine, 2015/3/12, A002, Second Opinion, Bill Stacey) The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is concerned about the risks in the property market in Hong Kong. They see the sharp rise in prices owing much to the “unconventional” monetary policies and zero interest rates in the US.Continue reading>

Privatize Our SOEs

Next Magazine (2015.01.01, A002, Second Opinion, Bill Stacey) As we seek to heal the wounds of the political divide and show that “one country two systems” might have meaning, we could do worse than focus on removing more activities from the political realm. This is no more important than in theContinue reading>

Vanguards in Our Streets

Next Magazine (2014.10.23, A003, Second Opinion, Bill Stacey) Hong Kong is a miracle. A rite of passage for young western bankers in Hong Kong is the junk trip to Lama with the top management from head office. Two decades ago my CEO, an accomplished head of the then biggest bank inContinue reading>

False Compassion

Next Magazine (2014.08.28, A002, Second Opinion, Bill Stacey) It is the gift of a great economist to be able to make complex issues simple. Art Laffer reached public greatness with his insight that there is a level of tax rates that is so high that even with higher rates, revenue wouldContinue reading>

Undermining The Rule of Law

Next Magazine (2014.07.31, A002, Second Opinion, Bill Stacey) Mark Twain penned the maxim that “no man’s life, liberty or property are safe while the legislature is in session.” It has always seemed a wise precaution to keep a close eye on what the legislature is doing. Therefore it has been possibleContinue reading>

Turn West Kowloon Into A Market

Next Magazine (2014.07.10, A002, Second Opinion, Bill Stacey) Eleven years after closing, there remains controversy about plans to preserve and redevelop the Central Market. At least we now have some rather bold plans, but apparently some people still object to the number of commercial outlets in the plans. So the siteContinue reading>

Government Waste Galore

Next Magazine (2014.05.22, A004, Second Opinion, Bill Stacey) In it last Annual Report, the Audit Commission notes that there “has been a significant rise in government spending (from $233 billion in 2005-06 to $381 billion in 2012-13 (an increase of 64%)” and describe the “significant increase in scope, complexity and coverageContinue reading>