Public debt is really five times bigger than we think, says institute
23 Aug 2010 [0 Comments | 183 views]
Public debt is a lot worse than we are being told, says the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) – it reckons that once we include state pension deficit, then total state debt is around £4.8tn or 333 per cent of GDP. Are things really that bad? And if so, what should we do about it? [...]
The pendulum balances. Data reveals government debt has a counterweight
12 Aug 2010 [0 Comments | 223 views]
As you know, the UK is bust. Or at least if it wasn’t for the austerity the new government has introduced, we would be bust, and right now the men, women and children of this country would find themselves being carted off to debtors prison. It is just that a report from the ONS, released [...]
Will the US government inflate its way out of debt hell
6 Aug 2010 [0 Comments | 225 views]
Will the US government inflate its way out of debt hell? Capital Economics has asked this very question, and its answer may surprise you. But before we look at the question of inflating away debt, first, how bad is US government debt likely to be? How is your hair? Make sure it’s held on tight, [...]
Are our economic fears now being realised?
2 Jul 2010 [3 Comments | 1,430 views]
Well, it may be happening. For months this column has warned you, and now the warning may be coming true. The markets are in a right tizz. Economic indicators are looking decidedly peaky. The FTSE 100 fell yet again yesterday, this time down to 4,805, the lowest closing prices since August last year. It is [...]
Are Martians in control of some central banks
30 Jun 2010 [4 Comments | 1,021 views]
This time, the European Central Bank sits at the centre of a storm. It is a little odd. The Bank of International Settlements, which is the closest we have to a world central bank, the IMF and the OECD have turned into arch hawks. They have thrown out 80 years of economic theory, and turned [...]
Osborne makes finishing touches as France looks for light touch
20 Jun 2010 [0 Comments | 239 views]
What should he do? We won’t bore you with too much speculation on the budget. After all, we will know for sure later tomorrow. But it is worth taking a brief look at the chancellor’s VAT dilemma. Of course, before the election neither the Tories nor the Lib Dems had any plans to raise VAT. [...]
The great economic oil leak gets worse – only the small people can plug it
17 Jun 2010 [0 Comments | 478 views]
Goodness gracious, news on the economy seems to be gushing forth faster than oil into the Gulf of Mexico. There is only one thing that seems able to match the sheer volume of gas gushing forth from the world’s media on the economy, and that’s the hot air being emitted from the US media, and [...]
Economic crisis: Act II
14 Jun 2010 [0 Comments | 271 views]
George Soros knows a thing or two. First of all, he was the man who took on the Bank of England in 1992, and won, making himself a tidy fortune and becoming hugely unpopular as he bet against sterling. He did the same thing again in 1997 with the Asian crisis. By the way, these [...]
We are on the road to … (insert correct answer: A nowhere, B recovery, C reason, D good intentions)
9 Jun 2010 [0 Comments | 352 views]
The paragons of wisdom have at last spoken up. The IMF says cut; Fitch rating says cut, cut; and across the blogosphere it says save, save, save. The snag is, it seems that we are listening to those who caused the economic crisis in the first place. Meanwhile, NESTA, or if you want to be [...]
Global austerity begins
7 Jun 2010 [0 Comments | 505 views]
It’s amazing how a phrase can sum up the big ideas of each era. Not so long ago the mantra of the world seemed to be ‘spend now, save later’. Now it’s ‘cut one’s cloth according to one’s means’. Today, the media will be full of David Cameron’s big cloth-cutting plan. But they are all [...]
