There’s nothing to fear from the latest easing back of Dodd-Frank’s reach October 17, 2018 Shortly after his inauguration as President, Donald Trump pledged to do “a big number” on Dodd-Frank regulations, labelling the post-crisis measures “a disaster” and promising to “kill” parts of the legislation. While the rhetoric was typically Trumpian, the reality has proven to be somewhat more modest. Nonetheless, a change in the White House's direction of [...]
Sterling falls on weaker UK inflation data as food and drink prices drop October 17, 2018 Inflation slowed in September as the prices of meat and chocolate fell, the first fall in the price of statisticians' basket of goods since April. Consumer price index (CPI) inflation fell from 2.7 per cent in August to 2.4 per cent in September, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said today. The relatively steep fall [...]
Can we innovate better outside the EU? Economic lessons from the Nobel prize winner October 17, 2018 Gordon Brown’s time as chancellor will be remembered for many things. A sense of humour would be conspicuously absent from this list. But he provoked a great deal of mirth unintentionally in a speech shortly before the 1997 General Election on the theme of “post-neoclassical endogenous growth theory”. Read more: US duo win the Nobel [...]
Economist Hernando de Soto: ‘Our systems of representation are broken’ October 17, 2018 Hernando de Soto has dedicated much of his life to trying to help the world's poorest countries develop to the level of advanced economies, but now he is wondering if Western nations need to re-examine how we think about government. De Soto is one of the world’s most prominent development economists, thanks to the central [...]
Why a Canada-style Brexit deal is unlikely October 16, 2018 Brexit is now less than six months away. Yet somehow, a deal feels further away than it did just a few weeks ago. The stakes are fairly high. Models estimate that GDP will shrink by much as eight per cent. Some of the damage has already been done via the corrosive effects of uncertainty and anticipation of a [...]
Ignore the chancellor, we don’t need Chequers to end austerity October 16, 2018 I generally presume cynicism in politicians’ arguments. But Philip Hammond implying a Chequers-style relationship with the EU is needed to “end austerity” was shocking in its brazenness. Ahead of the October Budget, the chancellor has echoed Theresa May in suggesting that looser government spending is just around the corner. Their calculation seems to be that [...]
Brexit: 23 answers to investors’ questions October 16, 2018 | City Talk The UK’s scheduled departure from the EU is fast approaching. Many observers are hopeful for an orderly withdrawal. But plenty of potential pitfalls between now and Brexit-day which could result in a chaotic divorce. The only near-certainty at present is that the UK will cease to be a full member of the EU on 29 [...]
UK wage growth accelerates at fastest rate since financial crisis October 16, 2018 Employees received a bumper pay rise in the three months to the end of August, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed today, showing wages have grown at their fastest rate since the financial crisis. Employees’ average weekly earnings received a bumper year-on-year rise of 3.1 per cent excluding bonuses, or 2.7 per [...]
End of austerity not ‘compatible’ with eliminating deficit says Institute for Fiscal Studies ahead of Budget October 16, 2018 The government faces a stark choice between upholding Theresa May’s promise to “end austerity” or meet its target of eliminating the deficit, according to a detailed analysis by one the UK’s most trusted economic bodies. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) will today say that chancellor Philip Hammond will have to find an extra £19bn [...]
Europe’s banks are right – the EU must act to avoid a Brexit cliff edge disaster October 16, 2018 Retail king Lord Wolfson raised eyebrows at the weekend when he insisted that a no deal outcome to Brexit talks “would not be a disaster”. The Next boss was referring to the overall effect on trade and, politically, he articulated his point well – you have to be prepared for no deal in order to [...]
