Four errors that would have lost you money during Covid
Second, and a few months later, it would have seemed quite sensible to say, as many of us did, that China had been first in and would…
Landlords are caught in the crossfire of the battle over wages
Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey’s clumsily delivered plea for restraint to stop the economy from overheating will be ignored by many. Few will be willing to…
Bank of England groupthink left us vulnerable to an inflation ambush
Having said that, in paying no attention whatever to the money supply I think that central banks have thrown the baby out with the bathwater. It is…
The post-Covid economy faces an uphill battle
On the surface, the latest GDP figures bring considerable cause for cheer. Last year, the economy enjoyed the fastest growth since the Second World War. The omicron…
The UK economy is doing a lot better than its implacable critics will admit
What does worry me is that business investment is still running at 10.4pc below its pre-pandemic level. This is despite Rishi Sunak’s “super deduction”, a cut in…
Ageing population will turn Britain’s economy into Germany’s
Dan Tomlinson, senior economist at the Resolution Foundation, said ministers were unlikely to be able to “simply repeat” previous moves to curb state spending such as shrinking…
‘Levelling up’ is based on a New Labour fallacy – it will inevitably fail
Regional levelling up as an overarching agenda appears less grounded in economics than politics. In a Parliament with broad spatial representation, and with a government with new…
Families struggling with energy bills should not have to pay for net zero
On top of that, the eye-watering hike in household energy bills announced last week and applying from April, is yet to come. And April, of course, is…
Workers’ battle for higher wages is only just beginning despite Bailey’s fears
It comes at the same time as supply chain turmoil undoes some of those disinflationary effects of globalisation, pushing prices up again. Public sector employment has picked…
Soaring energy and food costs force households to dip into savings
A quarter of households have been forced to dip into their savings as the cost of food and energy soars. Almost a third of adults are cutting…
Puddings, parties and pubs: Queen’s Jubilee to trigger wave of spending in boost to battered economy
For example, the 0.7pc fall in output seen in April-June 1977, spanning the Silver Jubilee, was the only quarter of negative growth in two years of upswing,…
Our squabbling politicians have presided over a dismal age of distorted markets
The tragedy of the financial crisis was that not enough of the poor performers were weeded out. Politicians and central bankers intervened. What may well have been…
Boris Johnson should crush Rishi Sunak’s tax rises
This cost-of-living debate, though, is about to get a lot more serious and bad-tempered, going way beyond pressure to move to zero-rated domestic fuel bills. Away from…
Economic storm clouds are gathering
Amid his many travails, Boris Johnson must hope that a few more days will see the “partygate” furore subside, assuming the inquiry by the senior civil servant…
Wise up Boris, the cost of living crisis is already here
Instead, as it flails around in its desperation to change the subject from Partygate (good luck) and throw “red meat” to the electorate, the Government’s attempts to…
End of the ‘great resignation’ threatens to wipe out rising wages
Wage growth is likely to slow this year as the cost of living crisis puts more people off changing jobs, an economist has warned. Job moves are…
Corrupt, moribund and indebted – Britain is becoming Italy without the Renaissance
The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on. Disregard for one’s own instruction is apparently all just part of the normality of today’s politics, as is the…
Britain’s remarkable recovery from Covid – and the lesson of Dante’s Paradiso
It is noteworthy that the UK saw a record £25.5bn last year of technology start-up funding from venture capital, more than in Germany and France combined. This…
The great British church divide – what are these buildings actually for?
Simon Lace, the cathedral’s chapter clerk, remains unrepentant. ‘You can’t deliver the mission of the Church to people who are not there, and you can’t do it…
Covid cash triggers plunge in public sector productivity
Productivity in the public sector plunged as extra funds were given to healthcare and other vital services to battle Covid. In the three months to September, the…
Inflation and unions threaten a new winter of discontent
Back in March, the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, revealed National Insurance contributions will rise to 13.25pc this April, so even a basic rate taxpayer, earning as little as…
Interest rates will rise and markets may fall, but robust growth looms in 2022
First and foremost, it’s about central bank money printing. The purpose of today’s ultra easy monetary policies was to support demand through the ravages of lockdown, but…
Workers should get limited pay rises to protect elderly from inflation, says Tory MP
Inflation-linked salary rises for the working population are not easily replicated for older adults, who “can’t go along to the pension payer and say: ‘Inflation’s gone up…
After a year of living dangerously, Boris Johnson bets the house on vaccine salvation
For governments around the world, the year ends much as it began – worrying about how to tame Covid without crashing the economy. Notwithstanding the success of…
Foreign appetite for classic British TV shows helps producers weather Covid
ITV Studios found Love Island, Schitt’s Creek and Line of Duty were the most popular with overseas buyers, while All3Media’ strongest sales came from It’s a Sin,…