AI has not yet spurred a productivity boom, but just you wait January 30, 2019 Nobel laureate Bob Solow pronounced 30 years ago that “you can see the computer age everywhere but in the productivity statistics”. At the start of the 1980s, the world entered the digital age. Fax machines transformed communications. The introduction of personal computers made high-powered computing available to all. But it took time to work out [...]
Personal insolvencies reach seven-year high as credit squeezed and wages stagnate January 29, 2019 The number of people in England and Wales turning to insolvency to deal with debt problems has risen to a seven-year high as consumer credit tightens and wages stagnate. There were 34,108 individual insolvencies in the fourth quarter, an increase of 34.8 per cent on the third quarter. In 2018 the number of people who [...]
The Eurozone is at risk of renewed crisis in 2019 – and this time it’s all about Italy January 29, 2019 After a dismal 2018, December brought further bad news for the Eurozone in the form of the European Commission’s economic sentiment indicator. Despite hopes that last year would see an escape from the ongoing repercussions of the 2011-2013 euro crisis, confidence across sectors has taken a hit, with only retail trade remaining a bright spot. [...]
If Britain looks outward, it will find Nigeria open for business January 29, 2019 As the vote on Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement looms, parliament is at an impasse. The likelihood of a no-deal Brexit is increasing – in Germany, it is now seen as the most probable outcome, while in France, a “hard Brexit” contingency plan has been triggered. Deal or no deal, however, Brexit gives the UK the [...]
DEBATE: With the top taxpayers revealed, is there a case for lowering the highest rate of income tax? January 29, 2019 With the top taxpayers revealed, is there a case for lowering the highest rate of income tax? Kate Andrews, associate director at the Institute of Economic Affairs, says YES. With the tax burden at a 50-year high, there is almost always a case to be made for lowering whichever tax is up for discussion. This [...]
Government shutdown wipes billions off US economy January 28, 2019 The five-week shutdown of the US Government knocked $8bn (£6.08bn) off America’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of this year. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) – the US spending watchdog – said $3bn was also wiped off GDP in the fourth quarter of last year due to reduced economic activity during to the shutdown, which [...]
German export confidence slides as last month’s ‘ray of hope’ for car manufacturing vanishes January 28, 2019 German export expectations have fallen sharply with last month’s “ray of hope” in car manufacturing vanishing in the new year, according to the Ifo Institute. Business confidence among German exporters fell to 5.9 in January, the lowest since the beginning of 2016, dropping from 8.7 in December. The outlook for the automotive industry, as well [...]
DEBATE: Will the new Franco-German pact help heal the EU’s divisions? January 28, 2019 Will the new Franco-German pact help heal the EU’s divisions? Dr Andrew W M Smith, historian of modern France at the University of Chichester, says YES. From its inception, European integration revolved around the axis of Franco-German unity. In 1963, Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer tied the knot at the Elysee palace, and Emmanuel [...]
Wages on the rise as 2019 set to be a ‘buyers’ market’ for UK’s top professionals January 28, 2019 Wage growth could be set to rise as employees express optimism over securing higher salaries and the UK's statistics body revealed that worker's pay growth hit a ten-year high at the end of 2018. UK wages have grown on average by just 1.9 per cent a year, according to the Centre for Economics and Business. However, [...]
Brexit shows it’s time for an economic shake-up from the Tories January 28, 2019 The Brexit weather forecast remains distinctly foggy in all areas as we enter yet another crucial week in Westminster. Will we ever see daylight and opportunity out of this sickening political morass? As I said to the BBC Question Time audience last week, I think this parliament ranks as the most dismal in living memory. [...]