Bears are gathering to welcome bullish Boris July 7, 2019 Did the economy shrink in the second quarter of the year? While it is impossible to be sure, we will get another clue this week when the Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes its GDP estimate for May – and so far, the signs are not good. Read more: Boris Johnson to crack down on [...]
Prudential UK property fund delays withdrawals for up to six months July 4, 2019 Last week Bank of England governor Mark Carney said these types of funds were "built on a lie"
No Jeremy – bailouts did not cost £1 trillion July 1, 2019 Imagine this: a young person finds themselves in financial trouble, perhaps as a consequence of their own actions, and can’t keep up payments on their £250,000 mortgage. A generous parent steps in and acts as guarantor on the mortgage, and also lends their chastened offspring £50,000 to get by. Over the following years, the young [...]
The definition of a think tank is up for debate June 25, 2019 Do you know what a think tank is, and can you name one? An amusing survey published yesterday revealed a predictably yawning gap between the commentariat, the chattering class, the Westminster bubble – call it what you will – and the average man or woman in the street. Just 75 people out of a sample [...]
The next Tory PM must give a boost to low income families June 19, 2019 You may have notice some headlines today about a drop in incomes for the UK’s poorest households. New research from the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation analyses incomes, poverty and inequality over recent years. Read more: Tory leadership hopefuls face new vote after TV clash Between two of the most [...]
Stiglitz’s 2020 vision: Left-wing economist makes a pitch for the soul of the Democrats June 17, 2019 Who will take on Donald Trump in next year’s battle for the White House? At the time of writing, an absurdly long list of Democratic hopefuls is dominated by Joe Biden, the septuagenarian former vice president who currently enjoys a huge lead in the opinion polls. Read more: President Trump endorses Boris Johnson as next PM [...]
Why the Square Mile must break its silence on China June 17, 2019 If timing is everything, London’s stock exchange tie-up with China has been a disaster from the start. It is now four years since the plan was first revealed under the Sino-philic leadership of David Cameron and his chancellor George Osborne. Read more: London-Shanghai Stock Connect finally launches Yet the summer of 2015 also brought a [...]
Editor’s Notes: Canary Wharf is still the place to meat June 13, 2019 We live in interesting times. A few years ago, who would have expected vegan sausage rolls to fly off Greggs’ heated shelves, or for KFC to announce a new vegan “chicken” burger called The Imposter? Veganism is alive and well… but not so much at the Canary Wharf branch of Boisdale this week, where the [...]
We could soon see the death of help to buy June 12, 2019 Pertinent questions about the government’s help to buy scheme are raised by the National Audit Office (NAO) this morning following a thorough review of the programme. Firstly, the report says that “three-fifths of buyers could have bought a property without the support of help to buy”, while nearly a third could have bought the standard [...]
Don’t bet on Boris Johnson breezing into Number 10 June 10, 2019 It’s been a good weekend for Boris Johnson, who won’t be concerned about the storm whipped up by his pledge to retain the £39bn Brexit bill if the European Union does not offer Britain a better deal on the terms of its exit. Yesterday’s frustration at the former foreign secretary’s comments came from various corners [...]
