The Single Market battle is the Remainers’ last stand in the Brexit war October 10, 2016 It has all the hallmarks of a last stand. Having abandoned resistance to the referendum result itself, Remainers are rallying to the cause of staying in the Single Market. Re-using the referendum hymn sheet, the same politicians, businesses and pressure groups who predicted doom and gloom from the decision to vote Brexit are now forecasting postponed doom [...]
Greek bailout stumbles forward but disagreements remain October 10, 2016 Greece has been given the green light to get its hands on €1.1bn from the European authorities as part of its multi-billion euro bailout programme after it successfully implemented a full package of reforms over the summer. Eurozone finance ministers agreed today the Greek Syriza government had met all of its requirements to implement "important reforms on [...]
Trump follies should make Britain count its Brexit blessings October 10, 2016 Investors can breathe a sigh of relief that the biggest Black Swan is treading water. Thanks to one lewd recording – dating back a decade – Donald J Trump’s race to the White House could be in serious jeopardy. The diminishing chances of a Trump presidency have put Europe back in the market’s crosshairs, as [...]
Bonds losing appeal as inflation set to pounce October 10, 2016 Yields on UK government debt have hit their highest level since the EU referendum as inflation fears grow and the pound remains under pressure. The benchmark 10-year bond now comes with a yield of more than one per cent in the UK, after hitting a record low of 0.52 per cent over the summer as [...]
Brexit vote sparks surge in overseas job searches October 10, 2016 The number of Brits searching for a career abroad has jumped in the months after the EU referendum, according to an analysis of online job adverts. Recruiters Indeed found searches for jobs outside the UK had jumped 20 per cent since the 23 June vote, with Ireland, Australia and Canada the top prospective destinations. Analysts [...]
OECD finds UK growth will be stable but slow October 10, 2016 The UK will grow at a stable but slower pace for the forseeable future as a result of uncertainty over its future relationship with the European Union, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) declared today. On an index which compiles economic indicators to assess how the world's top economies are performing compared to the recent [...]
Nobel Prize for Economics awarded to Oliver Hart and Bengt Holmstrom for innovations in contract theory October 10, 2016 British professor Oliver Hart is one of the two laureates of this year's Nobel Prize for Economics, which has been awarded for innovation in contracts theory. Hart, who is based at Harvard University, and Finnish Bengt Holmstrom, based at MIT, have created valuable new theoretical tools that have helped to "[understand] real-life contracts and institutions, as [...]
Ire over immigration: Careless policy debates risk damaging Britain October 10, 2016 Sometimes great damage can be caused by a government policy idea that doesn't end up seeing the light of day. Think back to 2013, when the Tory-LibDem coalition announced plans to introduce a visa bond. The idea would have seen arrivals from countries such as India or Nigeria paying a £3,000 bond as part of the [...]
Working 9 to 5? Actually, 14m of us are now independent workers October 10, 2016 As many as 14m people in the UK are classed as an independent worker employed outside the traditional 9 to 5 job, new research reveals. The figures calculated in a new report by McKinsey pegs the number of freelancers, temporary workers, and those selling items on eBay or renting out a room on Airbnb as part of the so-called [...]
After a torrid time for sterling, is the UK economy heading for trouble? October 10, 2016 Andrew Sentance, senior economic adviser to PwC and former member of the Bank of England’s MPC, says Yes. It is not just Brexit which is undermining sterling at present. The UK has a large balance of payments deficit. The government still has a large deficit – and Philip Hammond seems more relaxed than George Osborne about [...]