Budget 2017 UK predictions: What you can expect from the chancellor’s Spring Budget March 7, 2017 It's that time of year again: the chancellor is getting set to dust off his little red box and deliver the Spring Budget. It's the last one we'll see at this time of year, as Philip Hammond decided to move the major announcements to an Autumn Statement schedule. It's likely to be a more staid [...]
The US and UK are failing to confront the long-term drivers of explosive debt growth March 7, 2017 The chancellor Philip Hammond will take to the despatch box tomorrow to deliver his Budget. The media will pore over the plethora of announcements made – fiddly tax changes here, growth forecast revisions there. But this short-term focus misses the real policy story of the post-crisis period. The political class is failing to address our [...]
It’s productivity, stupid: The chancellor must be bolder on the greatest threat to living standards March 7, 2017 Whenever a new Budget is in the offing, fiscal policy tends to take centre stage. But while an open and lively debate over the goals of fiscal policy in the coming year is to be welcomed, we should not forget about the economic problems that, lurking in the background, continue to afflict the country. In particular, [...]
Redirect £76bn from former EU budget to fuel inclusive growth says RSA commission March 7, 2017 The government should reroute billions of pounds that currently goes to the EU budget to support inclusive growth after Brexit, according to a commission set up by businesses, local government and non-profit groups. A new £76bn fund would deliver growth across the whole of the UK, lowering inequality and raising overall productivity, the report by [...]
Retail sales fell in February as non-food retail sales decline for first time since 2011 according to early indicator March 7, 2017 Retail sales fell in February as non-food purchases recorded their first quarterly decline in more than five years, a survey ahead of official data shows. Like-for-like sales fell by 0.4 per cent compared to February 2016, according to the retail sales monitor reported by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG, despite food sales rising [...]
Greece growth downgraded further as bailout hangs in the balance March 6, 2017 The Greek economy shrank far more than was previously thought at the end of 2016, putting the growth underpinning its bailout deal this year under further threat. Output in the embattled country declined by 1.2 per cent in the final three months of the year, according to the Hellenic Statistical Authority, a big downwards revision [...]
Greece growth downgraded further as bailout hangs in the balance March 6, 2017 The Greek economy shrank far more than was previously thought at the end of 2016, putting the growth underpinning its bailout deal this year under further threat. Output in the embattled country declined by 1.2 per cent in the final three months of the year, according to the Hellenic Statistical Authority, a big downwards revision [...]
Donald Trump lessened importance of central banks as driver of global markets says influential group March 6, 2017 The ascent of Donald Trump to the US Presidency lessened market reliance on central banks, according to an influential body of central bankers. The surge in US equity valuations which followed the election of Donald Trump meant central banks “stepped back from the limelight”, according to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). “Politics tightened its [...]
Italy’s dying elite is dragging the Eurozone ever closer towards the abyss March 6, 2017 Venice – The great German novelist Thomas Mann once rightly described this bejewelled city as one of “flattering and suspect beauty, half fairy tale and half tourist trap”. The same can be said for the country of Italy as a whole, where things are rarely as they seem. For the problem with political soap operas [...]
There’s no need for Treasury giveaways to help the just about managing March 6, 2017 On the steps of Downing Street, Theresa May outlined the core of her political strategy: “If you are just about managing, I want to address you directly”. The just about managing – the so-called JAMs – saw their cost of living significantly squeezed in the aftermath of the financial crisis, and it is indeed vital that [...]