Living standards are finally recovering – but we ignore poor productivity at our peril March 4, 2015 The metamorphosis of Labour’s attack lines on the economy has been a sight to behold. In the early years of this Parliament, the party argued that spending cuts were being implemented “too far and too fast”. After that came the infamous “flat-lining growth” hand gesture, and finally the “cost of living crisis”. This latter criticism [...]
Whitbread share price rises after investors told to expect top end results February 25, 2015 The figures Shares in Whitbread opened 2.35 per cent up after the hospitality giant told investors to expect full-year results to come in towards the top end of current expectations, as sales at its cheap hotels and Costa Coffee chain continued to rise. Overall the group achieved a rise in like-for-like sales of 5.8 per [...]
The UK economy according to the OECD in six charts February 24, 2015 Andy Haldane, the Bank of England's chief economist, said last year that the economy "appears to be writhing in both agony and ecstasy." While the economy was growing at a faster rate that most of its rich counterparts, most people weren't benefiting from this because real wages were falling, and productivity, or output per hour work, [...]
General Election 2015: Will the government raise the minimum wage? February 23, 2015 Minimum wage in the UK should rise by 20p to £6.70 an hour, according to the Low Pay Commission. The rise, the commission says, should take place in October, and would mean a pay rise for 1.2m workers. If the government decides to implement the rise, which it may do in next month’s budget, it [...]
Reasons to whine: After the Bordeaux wine market collapse, optimism is creeping back February 19, 2015 Imagine a financial market where prices have collapsed by more than 30 per cent in the past three years, where a hatful of investment companies have gone to the wall and investors are reportedly nursing losses of more than £100m. It sounds like a full blown crisis, doesn’t it? But this isn’t Chinese equities or [...]
Labour spin isn’t shot to pieces quite yet – Bottom Line February 18, 2015 Yesterday marked the 10th anniversary of the ban on fox hunting, but the positive economic news that came out had many wondering if Labour’s campaign fox had been shot. Good economic news is undoubtedly a boost for the coalition parties’ election hopes. This is particularly true of the Tories, who have put their “long-term economic [...]
Ukip’s Nigel Farage claims “corporatism” has made us “victims of the economy” February 12, 2015 Today, Nigel Farage spoke of the dangers of “corporatism” during a speech on Ukip's vision for the future of Britain. At Castle Point in Essex, where Ukip candidate Jamie Huntman is currently standing, Farage said the current system made us “victims of our own economy”, and that we are living under a “lethal [...]
Ukraine crisis: Valdimir Putin and Petro Poroshenko agree to sign joint document – reports February 12, 2015 It had seemed could be light at the end of the tunnel for Ukraine. After marathon peace talks in Minsk involving Russian President Vladimir Putin, Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko it was reported that both Putin and Poroshenko would sign a joint document; offering [...]
Bordeaux is back on the investment table as Hong Kong buyers boost price February 9, 2015 BORDEAUX prices are back at 2010 levels, with the cost of some of the French regions’ best-known brands returning to pre-crisis peaks. Bordeaux Index, which monitors fine wine prices, said yesterday that while prices had soured in recent years, the supply excess had now “worked out of the market” and export demand is increasing again, [...]
Failure to save is socially irresponsible: Only bold policies will fix this crisis February 1, 2015 PEOPLE are not saving enough. We hear that all the time and yet we ignore this uncomfortable truth and carry on with our daily lives. Only half of us have a pension scheme and, even allowing for other savings and investments, most of us have probably not put away enough, especially given the spiralling cost [...]