Minimum wage needs radical reform, says free market think-tank September 3, 2018 The UK's minimum wage structure should be simplified to just one or two different hourly rates for workers aged 18 and over, the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) said today. The UK has five different minimum hourly wage rates, more than almost any other country. In a new report the IEA said the complicated structure [...]
India’s economy just had its best quarter in two years August 31, 2018 India’s economy had its best quarter in two years in the three months ended in June, growing at a powerful 8.2 per cent. The surge was fuelled by consumer spending and a strong manufacturing performance. It is the country's highest performance in a quarter since the 9.3 per cent growth India experienced in the January-March [...]
Donald Trump threatens to pull the US out of the World Trade Organisation August 31, 2018 US President Donald Trump has threatened to pull the US out of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). In an interview in the Oval Office with Bloomberg News Trump said: “If they don’t shape up, I would withdraw from the WTO”. He said establishing the WTO, which was set up in 1995, was the “the single [...]
It’s not rocket science – if we want more maths teachers, we should pay them more August 31, 2018 Britain faces a teaching crisis: half of new maths and physics teachers quit within five years. Just 47 per cent of those teaching these subjects at GCSE level have a relevant degree, and in the most deprived schools, it’s as low as one in five. Thursday’s report from the Education Policy Institute (EPI) paints a [...]
Editor’s Notes: Time for some forward guidance on the next Bank of England governor, Labour loses a man of principle and Warren Buffett’s lunch date August 31, 2018 Mark Carney’s first speech as governor of the Bank of England was on 28 August 2013, at a lunch co-hosted by the CBI and the Institute of Directors. I was working for the latter at the time, and was leaning against the back wall with a glass of warm white wine in my hand as [...]
Business confidence falls amid warnings Brexit uncertainty is holding back investment August 30, 2018 Business confidence fell significantly in August as firms batten down the hatches for a bumpy year, according to a closely followed survey of British companies. The balance of firms expecting stronger trading prospects in the coming year fell by five points to 29 per cent, according to the Lloyds Bank survey of more than 1,000 [...]
British consumer borrowing growth slowest since 2015 as personal debt stutters August 30, 2018 British consumers added to their borrowing at the slowest pace since the end of 2015 in July, adding to signs the rapid increase in the UK's personal debt pile is losing momentum. The annual growth rate of consumer credit, including credit cards and other forms of non-mortgage debt, slowed to 8.5 per cent, a level of [...]
Argentina calls for early release of $50bn IMF support as crisis deepens August 30, 2018 Argentina has requested the early release of a $50bn (£38.5bn) credit line from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after the peso hit new lows amid a deepening financial crisis. The value of the Argentine peso toppled yesterday, prompting the government to call on the IMF to speed up access to the funding in a bid to raise [...]
Politicians have abandoned economics for paternalism August 30, 2018 Have advocates of lifestyle and environmental regulation given up pretending that the policies they advocate are grounded in good economic analysis? Two stories from last week suggest so. The first was reporting around a new study by the Global Burden of Disease project, which concluded that even moderate drinking increases the risk of alcohol-related health [...]
DEBATE: Does the shock resignation of the French energy minister prove that Macron’s regime has lost its shine? August 30, 2018 Does the shock resignation of the French energy minister prove that Macron’s regime has lost its shine? Adam Bartha, director of Epicenter, says YES. It’s hard to lose something that you haven’t had for a while, but Nicolas Hulot’s resignation in protest of Emmanuel Macron’s agenda shows what we should already have known. The French [...]