Old economy benefits from tech

In his recent address to the CBI, Tony Blair set out to cement the working relationship between Government and industry. He also touched a raw nerve when he reiterated his view that there was no quick fix to overcome the problems associated with the high level of sterling relative to the euro. Having struggled with rising interest rates and with a level of sterling that makes UK exports uncompetitive compared with its continental neighbours, this was a message they did not particularly want to hear. On the same day Peter Mandelson, the Northern Ireland Secretary, said at a Belfast confe...