Government procurement should use its AAA credit rating as a bargaining tool, suggests Philip Green
11 Oct 2010 [0 Comments | 402 views]
Sir Philip Green, Arcadia boss and the man who tried to buy Marks and Spencer a few years back, has revealed the findings of his report on government spending. It seems, to say the least, governments have not been buying wisely. Okay, you may not have fallen off your chair through shock at that revelation, [...]
Hutton pension findings – are more strikes inevitable?
7 Oct 2010 [0 Comments | 557 views]
And so, the independent commission led by Lord Hutton has concluded that public sector workers must pay in more into their pension. So let’s run that one past you again. At a time when enormous public sector cuts are to set in, workers are going to have to pay in more into their pension. Can [...]
Gold and silver soar as race to bottom begins
27 Sep 2010 [0 Comments | 825 views]
Gold seems to be passing all-time highs with almost tedious regularity. Silver has passed a 30-year high. Meanwhile, a trade war between China and the US has come a step closer. Everyone wants the same thing, but they just can’t have it, and that’s why the safe havens are looking so attractive. What does it [...]
UK public debt surges
22 Sep 2010 [0 Comments | 359 views]
At face value it was a complete disaster. In August, the UK government borrowed more money than ever before. But actually, drill down, and the picture wasn’t quite so bad. But what is absolutely fascinating is why the deficit rose so high in the first place. In August net borrowing excluding the temporary effects of [...]
Credit agencies damn UK with praise
21 Sep 2010 [1 Comment | 544 views]
Praise be, it’s working. The UK government is cutting its deficit, and has been awarded fine praise by a credit rating agency. The CBI is up for it, too, but it wants to see even more cuts and for the money saved to be spent on infrastructure projects. And then there’s the man who is [...]
The catastrophe that may arise for austerity Britain
13 Sep 2010 [1 Comment | 495 views]
Brendan Barber and Ed Balls are just about alone. They are lone voices calling for less cuts in government spending in a sea of screaming demands for cut, more cuts and more cuts. But just because the views expressed by Messrs Balls and Barber are not fashionable, it does not mean they don’t have a [...]
Economic turmoil: why the only solution is nuclear economic policy and the end of the euro
9 Sep 2010 [3 Comments | 803 views]
The twists and turns of economic fortunes – they are enough to make you breathless. The last few days have, if such a thing is possible, seen the gap get bigger between the bulls who say all is well, and the bears who say we are doomed. The bulls say the recent spate of poor [...]
Public debt is really five times bigger than we think, says institute
23 Aug 2010 [0 Comments | 340 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 | 362 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 | 487 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, [...]
