The chancellor’s shambolic national insurance hike is based on a faulty reading of aggregate statistics March 14, 2017 "Britain is damning itself to be a low wage, low productivity economy”. How many headlines like that have we read over the past few years? Certainly, the UK has performed poorly when it comes to overall real wage growth since the financial crisis, reflective of weak aggregate productivity growth. But often these average statistics are [...]
Don’t overplay the similarities between Brexit voters and Geert Wilders’ Dutch populists March 14, 2017 In 2016, both Brexit and Trump took the markets by surprise. Will the so-called “rise of populism” continue into 2017? Its first significant electoral test is the Dutch general election tomorrow, with all eyes on Geert Wilders. A “win” for his populist Freedom Party is securing the most votes and occupying the most seats in the [...]
Would an independent Scotland stand a chance of getting European Union membership? March 14, 2017 Dr Alistair Clark, senior lecturer in politics at Newcastle University, says Yes. Nicola Sturgeon has announced the second Scottish independence referendum will be between Autumn 2018 and Spring 2019. The timing is such that Scotland will likely end up outside the EU when the UK leaves. It is very difficult to see Scotland remaining in [...]
Here’s what MPs had to say after the House of Lords gave the green light on Brexit March 14, 2017 After the House of Lords joined MPs in passing legislation to give Prime Minister Theresa May the power to trigger Article 50, Conservative MPs said it’s time to get on with Brexit. Brexit secretary David Davis said the UK is on the threshold of “the most important negotiation for our country in a generation.” “So [...]
Britain’s growth prospects upgraded by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) March 14, 2017 The UK economy has received another forecast upgrade as the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) becomes the latest to predict growth will be faster than previously expected this year. The economy will expand by 1.4 per cent this year, the BCC says, faster than the 1.1 per cent rate predicted in December. The upgrade in [...]
Bad news, London jobseekers: Employers to scale back hiring to three-year lows, as Brexit uncertainty surfaces among the capital’s firm March 14, 2017 Hiring in London is forecast to slump to a three-year low, as employers in the capital scale back their staffing intentions for the next three months. The ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey, which quizzed more than 2,100 UK employers and was released today, found employment optimism in the capital had slipped to three per cent, down [...]
UK motor industry shifts down a gear as inflationary sentiments creep in March 14, 2017 Britons are expected to put the brakes on their spending for new cars in 2017 as inflation bites, new data by consumer research company GfK finds. In research out today, it forecasts that car sales will slide by 5 per cent this year, following last year’s record. Joe Staton, head of market dynamics at GfK, [...]
Revealed: Deutsche Bank swipes another chunk from bonus pots, having already trimmed payouts for one in four staff March 13, 2017 Staff at Deutsche Bank have been dealt another blow after discovering the German lender's group bonus pool is being cut in half. Bankers were told last week to expect a so-called "group bonus" equivalent to 50 per cent of the maximum amount they were due, City A.M. can reveal. Deutsche's variable pay consists of two [...]
Peers and MPs have scrapped both amendments to Theresa May’s Brexit Bill March 13, 2017 The House of Lords has voted against reinstating their amendment to the Brexit bill, nearly clearing the way for Prime Minister Theresa May to trigger Article 50 by the end of the month. Peers voted down the Lib Dem amendment by a majority of 156. Now, the bill needs the Queen to give Royal assent, [...]
Top wonks call for an insider trading probe of the Office for National Statistics March 13, 2017 A director at the Adam Smith Institute (ASI) is calling on Office for National Statistics (ONS) procedures to be "urgently" reviewed in response to a report by the Wall Street Journal. The WSJ investigation found markets were moving ahead of the release of official ONS data in a way that is consistent with leaks. Sam Bowman, executive [...]