US producer prices increase by less than expected in July August 14, 2013 Prices received for finished goods made by US producers increased by less than expected in July, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (release). Year-on-year, the producer price index (PPI) rose by 2.1 per cent, down from a 2.5 per cent rise the month and falling short of expectations of 2.4 per cent [...]
Train users set for fare inflation pain next year August 13, 2013 COMMUTERS will be saddled with another above-inflation increase in train fares in January, as rail companies get the go-ahead to hike prices. July’s retail prices index, which is used to determine fares for the next year, came in at 3.1 per cent. Rail companies are allowed to add one per cent above inflation, meaning a [...]
UK inflation slowdown tests Bank of England’s forward guidance August 13, 2013 The rate of inflation in the UK slowed in July, triggering speculation about how this could affect the central bank's future monetary policy. The Office for National Statistics' consumer price index decelerated to an annual rate of 2.8 per cent, down slightly from the 2.9 per cent the month before. The fall was driven primarily [...]
UK inflation slowed in July indicating support for Bank of England target August 13, 2013 Inflation in the UK slowed in July, indicating that the Bank of England may find support for a rate hike in the future. The UK consumer price index (CPI) decelerated to an annual rate of 2.8 per cent in July, slightly down from 2.9 per cent the month before and in line with expectations. The [...]
July sees retail prices plunging at fastest pace ever recorded July 30, 2013 SHOP prices shrank again in July, declining at the fastest pace since the British Retail Consortium (BRC) began measuring them six-and-a-half years ago. The BRC’s shop price index fell by 0.5 per cent over the year to July, driven by the plummeting costs of non-food items, which dropped by 2.1 per cent. Although food prices [...]
Economic perfect storm: The four trends that killed Western growth June 30, 2013 THE West lies at the confluence of four extremely dangerous long-term developments. Individually or collectively, they have already begun to reverse more than two centuries of economic expansion. The first is well-known: the creation of the worst financial bubble in history – “the great credit super-cycle”. Since the 1980s, a relentless shift to immediate consumption [...]
Thatcher saved UK from slow decline April 12, 2013 When Margaret Thatcher won the 1979 election, Britain was a country on its knees, a discredited, impoverished post-imperial nation in seemingly terminal decline, with ruthless union bosses imposing their will on a gutless establishment, cripplingly high inflation, a tax regime that forbade entrepreneurship and ambition, and an antiquated class system still in full sway. Dozens [...]
Study Italy’s election: It is the shape of things to come in UK February 25, 2013 ITALY has spoken. Few in the City like what they are hearing, but they should listen carefully. Bond yields, which had fallen when it was thought the centre-left was cruising to victory, shot back up when it emerged that Silvio Berlusconi and a new, populist protest party were doing well. This bitterly divided vote is [...]
Letters to the editor February 24, 2013 Rising inflation [Re: Britain: a case study in low-growth economic mediocrity, Friday] Historically, inflation has followed an economic recovery – but not this time. British manufacturing (secondary sector) may be helped by a lower pound, but our economy now operates more in the tertiary sector. The real concern is not the manufacturing industry, but the [...]
Letters to the Editor February 17, 2013 Fiscal failure [RE: High inflation is denting recovery: The Bank of England must act now, Thursday] Andrew Sentance makes some very good points. Quantitative easing (QE) has resulted in inflation. As an importer of wine, buying mainly in euros, weaker sterling affects my prices directly and we have no choice but to pass these on [...]