Mervyn King, and the hornets’ nest.
29 Jul 2010 [0 Comments | 103 views]
Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England, has been busy stirring up a hornets’ nest. Actually, maybe it would be more accurate to say several hornets’ nests. He has slammed banks, left Nick Clegg with a lot of explaining to do, and sounded a bleak warning over the economy. This is what he said [...]
Cameron flies the flag
27 Jul 2010 [0 Comments | 90 views]
The shambolic banking stress tests say it all. The eurozone is stuck in the lane marked denial. If the UK is going to expand it needs to look beyond Europe, which is why David Cameron’s tour east is so interesting. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research reckons we will have to wait until [...]
Consumption recession has got another five years to run
27 Jul 2010 [0 Comments | 90 views]
According to the latest report from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, we will have to wait until 2015 before consumer spending per person reaches its pre-recession peak. This was perhaps the most interesting of NIESR’s latest forecasts. But what else did it have to say, and if it is right about consumer [...]
ITEM Club puts thumbs up to austerity drive
26 Jul 2010 [0 Comments | 171 views]
It makes a pleasant change to read a report on the UK economy that paints a positive picture. And the picture that the artists at Ernst & Young’s ITEM Club have been busy creating with their fine brushes, is as pretty as a picture of lilies in bloom. And it’s good news for those who [...]
Will UK recovery last?
26 Jul 2010 [0 Comments | 199 views]
And so it was that the UK economy expanded at its fastest rate since the beginning of 2006. The question we should be asking is not so much can this growth rate be maintained, as clearly it can’t, but rather by how much will it slow down? The quarter on quarter growth rate in Q1 [...]
Double dip draws closer, but corporate America may yet save the day
14 Jul 2010 [0 Comments | 339 views]
Credit rating agencies are in the news today. Standard and Poor’s wants to have its cake and eat it. At least, its latest comments on the UK do smack of someone who, having eaten a gorgeous gateau, with fresh cream oozing from all over, complains that their plate doesn’t look so nice now that it is [...]
Are our economic fears now being realised?
2 Jul 2010 [3 Comments | 1,315 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 | 921 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 [...]
Work till you drop, or work until you want to stop
25 Jun 2010 [0 Comments | 350 views]
There are always two ways of looking at things. Some might say: “It’s a scandal, now we have got to work until we drop.” Others might greet the news with glee, and thank their good luck that they won’t be put out to grass at 65. To an extent your reaction to the news will [...]
Osborne puts all his money on black
23 Jun 2010 [5 Comments | 520 views]
It was a bold Budget, all right. It was hailed as the most significant Budget in years, which is odd because they said much the same of Alistair Darling’s Budget of just a few months ago. You could say there are two key points that stand out. Firstly, George Osborne wants to reduce what’s called [...]
