Platinum Jubilee Reads: the best in our opinion pages on politics and the economy June 4, 2022 May was a weird month for Bitcoin – it included a price dip of 15 per cent weeks ago. Yet the cryptocurrency is not going away any time soon, and as Christian Keroles wrote at the beginning of the month, the UK should find a coherent approach to deal with it. The Chancellor could take [...]
Ex rate-setter urges BoE to raise interest by 3 per cent to stop inflation June 2, 2022 The Bank of England (BoE) needs to raise its interest rates by 3 per cent if it wants to stop inflation, according to former UK rate-setter Andrew Sentance. Previously an external member of the BoE’s monetary policy committee, Sentance argued that interest rates need to be increased fast to contain inflationary pressures, which last month [...]
Jubilee 2022: what’s changed for savers since 1952? June 1, 2022 It’s 70 years since Queen Elizabeth II took the throne. How have some of our key financial metrics – from longevity to inflation, interest rates to investment returns – moved over the decades? The seven-decade reign of Queen Elizabeth II has seen transformations in many aspects of our lives. That includes sweeping changes to the [...]
As Johnson squirms, his party must remember the roots of Conservatives values June 1, 2022 Boris Johnson has strayed very far from Conservative ideals
Treasury unveils plans for stablecoin insolvency regime led by Bank of England May 31, 2022 The Treasury has today unveiled plans for an insolvency regime for stablecoins as it looks to safeguard against the type of crash that saw terra shed almost all of its value this month.
UK cost of living crisis to tame runaway house prices, says Savills May 31, 2022 The UK’s cost of living crisis is expected to stunt house price growth for the rest of the year, according to estate agents Savills, taming property costs which continue to hit record levels. Affordability pressures will leave house prices no choice but to slow in their ascent, as property deals and mortgage approvals fall in [...]
Mortgage approvals fall following interest rate rises May 31, 2022 Mortgage approvals have fallen to the lowest level seen since the peak of the UK’s house-buying frenzy in June 2020, according to official data today. Brits were approved 66,000 mortgages in April, down from 69,500 in March, data from the Bank of England has revealed. This is slightly below the pre-pandemic average of 66,700, [...]
Explainer-in-brief: firing up the coal plants to stave off the dark of night May 31, 2022 Six million British households could face power cuts this winter, as the consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine send shockwaves across the energy supply chain. This is bad news not only for the people affected, who could see their electricity cut in the early mornings and evenings, but also for the green transition. Keeping the [...]
NIESR top economist: Bank of England has tools to fight inflation May 30, 2022 The UK economy is in a bit of a bind. Households are being squeezed by historic rises in their living costs, while businesses’ margins are thinning due to expenses soaring. A much higher than expected inflation crunch – primarily the result of Russia’s unforeseen invasion of Ukraine – is forecast to trigger a spending pull [...]
Sunak’s care package prevents severe UK living standards shock May 26, 2022 Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s energy shock care package will prevent a severe erosion of living standards among the UK’s poorest households. That’s according to top wonks’ assessments of today’s round of measures designed to cushion the hit to households from soaring inflation and energy bills. Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), said: [...]