Gilt yields – the hidden driver of house prices Opinion Everyone has assumed, understandably, that the two main factors influencing UK house prices are supply and affordability, but there is a third driver: gilt yields, says James Sproule James Carville, Bill Clinton’s political strategist, famously said if reincarnation was real, he wanted to come back as the bond market, “because then I can intimidate everyone”. [...]
Misery index gives cause for hope There is an unmistakable inverse correlation between emiserating factors like unemployment, wages and house prices and consumer confidence, but new analysis suggests things may be looking up, says James Sproule The cost-of-living crisis may be difficult to define or quantify, but it is easy enough to feel – and misery has been felt not just [...]
High interest rates hurt but they might just be the medicine UK productivity sorely needs james sproule A post Global Financial Crisis policy of zero interest rates has facilitated investments which deliver poor returns, writes James Sproule Productivity is often seen as the key for sustainable growth. But it is hardly a secret that Britain’s productivity is stuck in the doldrums – and has been so since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) [...]
As Carney says the UK still needs stimulus, is he too gloomy about our economic prospects? November 25, 2014 James Sproule, chief economist at the Institute of Directors, says Yes. The UK is set to enjoy the best growth in the G7 – not the most competitive economic growth league in the world, but still a contest worth winning. Yet despite this, policymakers remain concerned about the UK’s economic prospects. It is certainly true [...]
