Could Asda and Sainsbury be merging?
30 Mar 2007 [0 Comments | 58 views]
First there was private equity, then talk emerged that Marks and Spencer was considering purchasing Sainsbury. Now the rumour mill has ground out talk that Asda has mooted throwing its hat into the ring. If the two supermarkets were to merge, they would have a combined market share that is comparable to Tesco’s. Clearly competition [...]
Immigration benefits the average Brit
30 Mar 2007 [0 Comments | 57 views]
Do you remember the furore earlier this year over the economic impact of immigration? At the time Sir Andrew Green from Immigration Watch argued that immigration has little impact on GDP per capita in the UK. Sir Andrew, who seemed to present himself as the voice of economic reason, said: “The much vaunted contribution of [...]
Oil soars
30 Mar 2007 [0 Comments | 56 views]
The are no prizes for guessing why, but oil soared yesterday, passing the $66 a barrel mark on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That is the highest level we have recorded since September last year. It shows how influential Middle Eastern politics are on the price of oil, and if the British hostages are released [...]
High street sees big jump in March
30 Mar 2007 [0 Comments | 47 views]
The high street has had its best month since 2004, suggests data released yesterday by the CBI. The CBI distributive trades survey is produced when retailers say whether sales are up or down on the same month the year before. The percentage balance forms the CBI index, which in March rose to 32, up from [...]
The EU sees new economic hope as unemployment plummets
30 Mar 2007 [0 Comments | 55 views]
Later today official figures are expected to reveal a fall in unemployment across the eurozone to 7.3 percent in February from 7.4 percent the month before. This will bring unemployment in the area down to its lowest level since 1993, when records charting the area began. And looking forward the prognosis is good too. According [...]
Denmark tops the global IT poll, UK eats dust in 9th spot
29 Mar 2007 [0 Comments | 54 views]
Sometimes, in economics, we forget what really counts. Economists drone on about the rate of interest, and fiscal policy and balance of payments, but forget that actually the factors that determine a country’s success are usually more dependent on the people living there, and how they are educated. Take the Nordic countries. They focus on [...]
Internet advertising breaks £2 billion
29 Mar 2007 [0 Comments | 53 views]
Do you remember the day the internet died? It’s like the words to that Don Mclean song, but, just as music turned out not to have died after all, it appears the internet was just pausing for breath, before it embarked on the most extraordinary growth story. Back in 2001, internet advertising in the UK [...]
Bernanke offers hope, but is he right?
29 Mar 2007 [0 Comments | 49 views]
Last week the Fed offered some hope. For month in month out the Fed repeatedly talked about the need for further policy firming. It hasn’t changed the rate of interest since last June, but in every meeting since it repeated its ‘policy firming’ warning. Then, when it met again last week, that phrase was omitted [...]
Could US sub-prime crisis happen here?
29 Mar 2007 [0 Comments | 56 views]
Compare the US sub-prime market with the UK’s. The differences are so wide, you could drive a coaches and horses between them. But, then again, on further analysis, maybe the similarities are not so great after all. You don’t need to be smart to understand the fundamental reason for the US crisis. The rate of [...]
Inflation: is the worm turning again?
28 Mar 2007 [0 Comments | 48 views]
For some time now, a further rise in the UK rate of interest has been widely predicted. But then, people have been saying, with all those one-off costs, such as the price of fuel falling out of the annual figures, inflation will fall, and the Bank of England will be able to lower rates. Against [...]
