UK unemployment at lowest rate since December 2008 July 16, 2014 The unemployment rate has continued to fall, dropping from 6.6 per cent to 6.5 per cent during the three months to May in line with analysts' predictions – the lowest it has been since October to December 2008. The data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that unemployment has been dropping for a [...]
Real wages continue fall to dash hopes that cost of living crisis is easing July 16, 2014 The recovery is still some way off reaching people's pockets, as earnings growth slowed to a meagre 0.3 per cent in the three months to May, according to the Office of National Statistics. Average earnings for the three months to May fell from a revised 0.8 per cent figure for April to its lowest [...]
Don’t give up on the Union: Scots should vote with their heads, not their hearts July 3, 2014 SEVEN hundred years ago, the Scots won a glorious victory at Bannockburn. The Yes campaign says we should seize this September’s referendum to be that nation again! My heart hears the call: I am Scots first and foremost. But my head says no. Why give up on a Union that has immeasurably improved the prosperity [...]
As Ed Miliband seeks to woo businesses, is Labour’s pro-enterprise stance credible? July 3, 2014 Lord Wood of Anfield, shadow cabinet minister and adviser to Ed Miliband, says Yes. Labour knows that the foundation of a successful Britain is the success of British business – large and small, home and abroad. But to compete and succeed in the decades ahead, we need to address the long-term challenges of our economy. [...]
Beware Blair: The West must not learn the wrong lessons from Iraq June 17, 2014 MUCH as I am intellectually fond of Boris Johnson, he is entirely wrong about both former Prime Minister Tony Blair and his motivation for speaking out on the present Iraq crisis. For those of us who were against the initial Iraq war (I lost my job in America for my pains), it was certainly emotionally [...]
Bubble trouble: We’re sacrificing financial stability for a growth illusion June 12, 2014 THERE is a growing conflict at the heart of economic policymaking – and a rising danger. The risk is that financial stability is being sacrificed on the altar of growth, and that memories of the financial crisis are growing short. Consider these recent disparate examples. Mario Draghi has boldly gone where no G7 central banker [...]
London house price danger flagged by IMF review June 6, 2014 The UK's government has this morning received a far more glowing appraisal from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) than it has become used to. The supranational organisation has delivered its Article IV mission findings, noting that the UK's economy "has rebounded strongly and growth is becoming more balanced". Among its other points, the IMF lists [...]
We should always heed the law of unintended consequences June 5, 2014 THERE were two reactions to yesterday’s Queen Speech: critics dismissed it as lightweight in the extreme, a collection of reheated policies seasoned with a little trivia; supporters celebrated a government that understands that passing fewer laws is often better than frenetic legislating. Both sides were wrong. For a start, there are revolutionary pension bills in [...]
We should always heed the law of unintended consequences June 4, 2014 THERE were two reactions to yesterday’s Queen Speech: critics dismissed it as lightweight in the extreme, a collection of reheated policies seasoned with a little trivia; supporters celebrated a government that understands that passing fewer laws is often better than frenetic legislating. Both sides were wrong. For a start, there are revolutionary pension bills in [...]
After years of political vandalism, UK pensions are on the mend June 2, 2014 BRITONS don’t save enough. The fact that we don’t put enough money aside for a rainy day, for our retirement or to finance long-term care, is one of our great weaknesses. There was a time when the UK was able to boast that we had the best pensions system in Europe; those days are long [...]