Nigel Farage: The Remain campaign is trying to scare you April 29, 2016 Nigel Farage has warned that the Remain campaign is increasingly using scare tactics to persuade voters to stay in the EU – as he suggested food and cars will be cheaper in the case of Brexit In a wide-ranging speech, Farage accused the Remain campaign of a "remorseless torrent of propaganda scaring us", adding that "all sorts of [...]
EU referendum: Economists launch new pro-Brexit report attacking EU as an “evil” customs union April 28, 2016 A group of economists has struck back against what they see as the one-sided tone of the EU referendum debate today, with a new report that outlines the potential benefits of leaving the EU. "Economists for Brexit", a campaign group launched this morning, said Brexit would lead to lower prices, more jobs and faster economic growth, dismissing the claims put [...]
Nearly 60,000 companies hit by National Living Wage already in “significant financial distress”, insolvency firm warns April 20, 2016 The National Living Wage (NLW) risks tipping thousands of vulnerable companies over the edge as they struggle to absorb higher staff costs, one of the UK’s leading insolvency firms has warned. More than 1.8m workers were given a pay rise on 1 April after a new minimum wage came into force, requiring employers to pay at least £7.20 per [...]
Unemployment numbers up and wage growth down: Why the UK labour market has started to stutter April 20, 2016 Jobs and wages figures released today raised questions over whether the UK economy could be losing steam. Analysts were quick to point to a host of factors that could be at play, as well as what the numbers mean for everything from interest rates to Brexit. The figures The headline unemployment rate came in unchanged [...]
The Treasury has it entirely wrong: The British economy would gain from Brexit April 19, 2016 The Treasury has produced its 200-page report about the effects of Brexit on the economy. Predictably, it is highly negative. It is sad that the Treasury, for which I once worked for a few years, has become so politicised that it is reduced to rationalising the views of George Osborne. The modelling methods it has [...]
Inflation slips back in the United States, but Federal Reserve still likely to raise rates in June April 14, 2016 US INFLATION slipped back in March as cheaper clothes and food helped to offset a jump in petrol prices, easing the immediate pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates. The headline consumer prices index (CPI) came in at 0.9 per cent in the 12 months to March — down from a reading of [...]
With March’s inflation figures the strongest since 2014, should we be prepared for a rapid rise in the coming months? April 13, 2016 Andrew Sentance, senior economic adviser to PwC and a former member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, says Yes. Once again, deflation has been the dog which hasn’t barked in the UK. Inflation is gradually coming back. The headline rate is 0.5 per cent, but the underlying rate – excluding volatile food and energy [...]
With March’s inflation figures the strongest since 2014, should we be prepared for a rapid rise in coming months? April 13, 2016 Andrew Sentance, senior economic adviser to PwC and a former member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, says Yes. Once again, deflation has been the dog which hasn’t barked in the UK. Inflation is gradually coming back. The headline rate is 0.5 per cent, but the underlying rate – excluding volatile food and energy [...]
Pound jumps against the dollar as UK inflation figures beat expectations in March April 12, 2016 The pound jumped against the dollar this morning, after UK inflation for March beat economists' expectations, data released today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has shown. British consumer prices rose 0.5 per cent year-on-year in March, ahead of expectations for a 0.4 per cent increase, and up from 0.3 per cent a month earlier. Read more: Inflation basket [...]
Shops failing to cash in on low inflation as British Retail Consortium sales monitor shows no growth in March April 12, 2016 Retail sales flat-lined in March, according to the latest sales monitor from the British Retail Consortium (BRC), in an early sign that a wobble in the consumer-led recovery could be on the cards. Total retail sales were unchanged on March 2015, compared to a 4.7 per cent annual increase registered in this month last year. [...]