Why the Bank of England could turn more hawkish in 2017 January 17, 2017 Suppose the UK had voted to stay in the EU. Would the Bank of England have hiked its benchmark interest rate by now? Yes, probably. But that didn’t happen. Instead, the central bank aggressively expanded monetary policy in August, shortly after the UK voted for Brexit. The Bank's efforts, in conjunction with Theresa May’s ship-steadying [...]
Oxfam is wrong to imply free markets make the rich richer at the poor’s expense January 17, 2017 Every year Oxfam releases statistics comparing the wealth of the global poor and the global rich, showing a stunning, often widening, gap between the two. They heavily imply that the poor are getting poorer while the rich are getting richer – but only half of this is correct. The lot of the world’s worst off [...]
Bank of England governor Mark Carney claims stimulus package in August saved 250,000 jobs from being lost January 16, 2017 Mark Carney has been slammed by leading Brexiteers after claiming that 250,000 jobs could have been lost if the Bank of England had not taken action in the aftermath of last year's EU referendum. Bank governor Carney slashed rates to 0.25 per cent in August last year, while expanding the UK's quantitative easing programme and providing [...]
British bosses are bold about Brexit – but worried about global growth January 16, 2017 Bosses at Britain’s largest firms are more optimistic about prospects for business expansion than their international counterparts despite sharing greater levels of concern about global growth and the fallout from Brexit, according to a new survey by PwC. The annual report, released tonight at the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, is based on [...]
The International Monetary Fund has hiked its economic forecast for the UK this year and in 2018 January 16, 2017 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised up its UK growth forecasts for this year. The IMF's previous guidance, released in October last year, estimated the economy would grow by 1.1 per cent in 2017. But now the tables have turned – after higher-than-expected growth in the second half of last year, the IMF is [...]
2016 was the year the disillusioned screamed ‘enough’; 2017 must be the year of values-based leadership January 16, 2017 This year, the World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos has developed its programme of events around the themes of responsive and responsible leadership. It could not come at a more critical time for the world’s elite. 2016 saw huge upheaval around the world and the beginnings of a complete restructuring of the world order. Some [...]
Gold is up ahead of Trump’s inauguration and May’s Brexit speech January 16, 2017 Gold prices were up 0.48 per cent in morning trading, rising above $1,200 per ounce as political uncertainty looms. Ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration this week, gold was trading at $1,201.90 per ounce, on course for its sixth straight session of gains, while the US dollar weakened, analysts at Accendo Markets said. Read more: Trump's golden flowering: [...]
Economists slam Oxfam report on billionaires vs the world’s poorest people January 16, 2017 Economic think tanks have once again rounded on the annual global wealth distribution findings from charity Oxfam. Ahead of Davos 2017, which kicks off tomorrow, Oxfam released a report claiming that eight billionaires own the same wealth as the 3.6bn people who make up the poorest half of the world's population. The Institute of Economic Affairs [...]
The company behind the Airlander “flying bum” is planning to IPO in London January 16, 2017 The British company behind the world's biggest airship is planning to list on London's junior market. Hybrid Air Vehicles, the maker of the Airlander hybrid aircraft nicknamed the flying bum for its appearance, will seek to raise £50m with a float pencilled in for the end of 2017 or early 2018 on London's Alternative Investment Market. HAV [...]
Philip Hammond offers hard truths to the Germans January 16, 2017 While much of the weekend’s focus has been on what Theresa May could announce in her big Brexit speech tomorrow, it was her chancellor, Phillip Hammond, who made one of the more interesting interventions of the weekend. In an interview with a German newspaper Hammond poured cold water on the idea that the UK might [...]