The economics of gift giving: It probably isn’t worth it December 20, 2019 It is Christmastime, which means that on Tuesday I will be frantically rushing around doing some very last-minute shopping and attempting to wrap presents. I have a pretty good idea what I’m going to buy people this year, although my young nieces are proving to be particularly tricky. As I’ve never been a four-year-old girl, [...]
Bank of England holds interest rate at 0.75 per cent December 19, 2019 The Bank of England has decided to hold interest rates at 0.75 per cent in its last meeting of 2019 as it warned there was little chance of significant economic growth this quarter. The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted 7-2 in favour of maintaining the rate, as it did at its previous meeting in [...]
Will the Bank of England cut interest rates? December 18, 2019 UK inflation data came out today, leaving economists to ponder whether the Bank of England would consider cutting or raising interest rates before the end of 2019 or even early into 2020. The Consumer Prices Index stood at 1.5 per cent in November, flat on October and half a per cent below the Bank of [...]
UK inflation rate holds steady at 1.5 per cent December 18, 2019 UK inflation remained steady at 1.5 per cent in November, marking no change from October, according to official data released today. While the figure is slightly higher than expectations of 1.4 per cent, it remains below the Bank of England’s target of two per cent. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) saw its biggest contributions from [...]
A lesson in cognitive dissonance for the Corbynites December 18, 2019 Behavioural economics — which extends the ability of economics to explain the world — has become very fashionable. Richard Thaler, Nobel Prize winner for his work in this area, observed that most of the time, the rational choice model of standard economics works well. People gather information on the various alternatives open to them, and [...]
BoE: $5bn leaves Hong Kong funds amid protests December 17, 2019 Political unrest in Hong Kong has triggered traders to pull as much as $5bn (£3.8bn) of capital from the region since April, according to the Bank of England (BoE). The outflows account for nearly 1.25 per cent of Hong Kong’s GDP and began when protests broke out following the proposal of a controversial extradition bill [...]
Bank of England governor vacancy gets 650 applications on Linkedin December 17, 2019 The role of the governor of the Bank of England has piqued the interest of Linkedin users as one of the most viewed jobs in 2019. Current incumbent Mark Carney is leaving the role on 31 January, with big names like Financial Conduct Authority boss Andrew Bailey and City grandee Helena Morrissey in the running [...]
No-deal Brexit fears trigger sell-off of Barclays, Lloyds and RBS shares December 17, 2019 Shares in Barclays, Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) all slumped in early trading after Boris Johnson brought back the spectre of a no-deal Brexit today. The trio failed to impress in yesterday’s Bank of England stress tests, where analysts warned that a strategy to double a 100-basis point capital buffer designed to protect [...]
UK unemployment rate falls close to 45-year low, but wage growth slows December 17, 2019 The UK’s unemployment rate fell back close to a 45-year low between August and October, according to official data today, but economists warned the new government must solve the “puzzle” of flagging wage growth. The unemployment rate fell to 3.8 per cent to register just 1.28m people who are unemployed, a fall of 93,000 or [...]
OBR: Accounting changes push up UK borrowing by £20bn a year December 16, 2019 The UK’s budget watchdog has said that government borrowing will increase by around £20bn a year due to accounting changes, highlighting the fine line chancellor Sajid Javid will have to tread to meet his new spending rules. The Office for Budget Responsibility’s updated forecasts (OBR) showed that the budget deficit – the difference between spending [...]
