Embrace road pricing to build the infrastructure we actually need without government borrowing October 27, 2016 It is odds on that Philip Hammond will announce in the Autumn Statement that government spending constraints will be relaxed to facilitate investment in infrastructure. We will be told that the government should borrow and invest more and that this will promote growth in the long run. This argument might have merit if it were not for [...]
Autumn Statement 2016: What do strong GDP figures mean for Philip Hammond’s first spending spree? October 27, 2016 Next month's Autumn Statement may not be the mighty spending spree some had expected, as today's expectation-beating GDP figures could prompt a rethink inside the Treasury about how far they need to go. Chancellor Philip Hammond has promised a fiscal reset, although growth of 0.5 per cent in the third quarter is significantly up on economists' forecasts and [...]
Following better than expected third quarter GDP figures, have Project Fear’s warnings been disproved? October 27, 2016 David Blake, a professor at Cass Business School, City University London, says Yes. The Treasury’s pre-Brexit scaremongering has been proven so wrong, but it sticks to its original, completely implausible assumptions. Its latest position is that those forecasts were made based on the assumption that Article 50 would be triggered immediately, and that no policy response [...]
Twitter just announced it’s killing its Vine video app October 27, 2016 Twitter has revealed it is going to scrap its Vine video service. In a blog posted to Medium the micro-blogging site said it would be discontinuing the mobile app "in the coming months". The site said all existing Vines – videos that are a maximum of six seconds long – would still be available and it [...]
What do today’s GDP figures mean for UK interest rates? October 27, 2016 The Bank of England looks set to delay another bout of emergency stimulus next week after this morning’s strong GDP figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the UK grew by a robust 0.5 per cent this morning, defying already-revised expectations of a 0.3 per cent gain in the first three months after the [...]
Gold prices: Value of the yellow stuff rises in modest rally as Hindu festival of Diwali approaches October 27, 2016 The price of gold has modestly rallied in the run-up to Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, on Sunday. Spot gold prices were trading at $1,269.83 per ounce today, up almost $30 from lows earlier this month. Prices often rise as the festival approaches each autumn, as giving and receiving gold is a key part of [...]
Growth smashes expectations and Nissan is investing here, but the pound still marches lower October 27, 2016 Expectation-busting growth figures, a new commitment to build cars in the UK, and diminishing chances of an interest rate cut this year weren't enough to stop the pound falling into familiar patterns today. Sterling suffered its customary afternoon sell-off yet again as the currency lost 0.6 per cent against the dollar, falling below $1.22 in afternoon trading. It [...]
Zac Goldsmith’s Richmond Park by-election has been scheduled for December October 27, 2016 Former Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith will fight the Richmond Park by-election on 1 December it has been confirmed. Goldsmith will be standing as an independent in the competition after dropping out of the Conservatives in protest over the decision to expand Heathrow. He will face no opposition from either the conservatives or Ukip after both [...]
Don’t rely on downsizing to make up for your insufficient pension October 27, 2016 After years of runaway house prices, few will be surprised that a sizeable proportion of the UK’s net wealth is tied up in property. The latest ONS statistics show that dwellings make up a massive 62 per cent, or £5.5 trillion, of the country’s £8.8 trillion total. So it is also unsurprising that many see [...]
UK cabinet minister says Britain will leave the single market October 27, 2016 A UK cabinet minister has said Britain will be leaving the single market in the strongest signal yet that the government is moving towards a hard Brexit. The remarks came from David Mundell, the secretary of state for Scotland, at a hearing on the impact of the Brexit vote, Reuters has reported. Mundell told Scottish [...]