October deficit reaches three-year high despite Hammond’s promise to end austerity November 21, 2018 The UK recorded a much larger than predicted deficit for October, according to official data released today, the same month in which the government signalled an end to austerity measures. Public borrowing rose to £8.8bn last month, up from £7.2bn in October last year, amounting to the largest October deficit for three years, according to [...]
DEBATE: As discounts get out-of-control, is there a case for retailers to ignore Black Friday altogether? November 21, 2018 As discounts get out-of-control, is there a case for retailers to ignore Black Friday altogether? Michelle Ovens, director of Small Business Saturday, says YES. Black Friday started off as a day when consumers could enjoy making great purchases, but now it has just become a day for deep discounting – and that is incredibly damaging to small [...]
Life under Network Rail offers a glimpse of the future if Corbyn were left in charge November 21, 2018 The shambles that is Network Rail continues to blight our lives. City A.M. readers may have experienced the cancellation of many services into Waterloo on Monday, due to engineering works overrunning. Even the best-laid plans can go astray. But this week was not just a one-off event. It seems to be a permanent feature of [...]
Manufacturing activity bounces back after poor October showing, but Brexit doubts remain November 20, 2018 Manufacturing activity picked up in the quarter to November, as the industry rallied after a disappointing October report, according to the latest statistics from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). The organisation's latest monthly Industrial Trends Survey said it expected manufacturers to benefit from ongoing global economic expansion and a low sterling exchange rate. But weak growth [...]
Mark Carney says a no-deal Brexit would be the ‘worst outcome’ for the Bank of England November 20, 2018 Mark Carney today told the Treasury Select Committee that a "no-deal" Brexit would be the "worst outcome" for the Bank of England. The BoE governor said he expected May's draft withdrawal agreement to "support economic outcomes" and welcomed the transition period, which is due to end in 2020. The transition period begins on 29 March 2019 and lasts [...]
This government will use free enterprise as a force for good November 20, 2018 Last week, Cabinet Office staff visited a company called Clarity, a soap-making social enterprise established in 1845. In addition to sampling some of the excellent soap they supply to our department, they met the employees who make their products, all of whom have disabilities or long-term health conditions. Clarity is deeply committed to supporting and [...]
Labour’s childish antics over Brexit are an embarrassment November 20, 2018 The Brexit deal is on the table and the bids to support it, scrap it, or make it utterly redundant are now in full swing. As Theresa May moves forward with her plan to engineer a parliamentary majority for a proposed exit deal, clear political camps have begun to form. The Tory moderates who have [...]
Europe’s top banker warns of eurozone ‘uncertainty’ November 16, 2018 The European Central Bank will push ahead with plans to roll back its stimulus package at the end of the year, the bank’s chief said today. ECB president Mario Draghi said he still expects the eurozone economy to keep expanding, but warned that there is increasing uncertainty. “If firms start to become more uncertain about [...]
An Italian Bank run could crack the euro November 16, 2018 | City Talk The Italian government is defying the European Commission’s request that it revise its draft budget for 2019 to reduce the deficit. Bond yield spreads are widening and Italian banks are under pressure. Should a bank run ensue, could the euro fall apart? After German reunification, interest rates rose to over 9 per cent in the early [...]
Money in the pot? The cannabis trend could be the new gold rush November 16, 2018 Is cannabis the new gold? And if so, are we at the gates of a greener and much more lucrative gold rush? Long gone are the days in which the legalisation of marijuana seemed impossible. Across the world, laws have fallen, new laws have been made, and an increasing amount of research has established that [...]