Economy is being knocked off course March 11, 2012 IT is not looking too good for George Osborne. The Budget is next week and the economy remains mired in stagnation. It is hard to know for sure what is happening, but all the indications are that growth so far this quarter has been weak. Industrial production actually fell in January, despite a rise in [...]
RAPID RESPONSES March 11, 2012 Wilful ignorance [Re: Britain’s war on the aspirational classes, Tuesday] I agree with you about taxes. But I recall, in the run-up to the 2010 general election, listening to a radio show where callers claimed that the UK was a low-tax economy, thinking this was a bad thing. More recently we have seen support for [...]
RAPID RESPONSES March 8, 2012 Struggling youth [Re: Mortgage time-bomb UK’s top threat, yesterday] I agree that rates will go up in the future, but when will they stop rising? If rates go up to 7 per cent, those who took out mortgages 10 years ago will generally manage. It’s the younger generation who will get hit hardest. Those who [...]
THE LONDON BAROMETER March 8, 2012 SALES DIRECTOR OF DOUGLAS & GORDON In D&G land, February saw the lowest levels of available properties since December 2009 as a result of consumer confidence remaining low, a lack of job security and a knock on affect from economic turmoil in Europe, whilst the number of prospective buyers registering is still at an all-time [...]
Mortgage time-bomb UK’s top threat March 7, 2012 SOME time-bombs can be defused. Not this one. At some point – in a year, in two, or perhaps even in five – the cost of borrowing for consumers will climb back to the sorts of levels we were used to 15 years ago. Complacent borrowers addicted to rock-bottom interest rates – and for whom [...]
CITY A.M. | SHADOW MPC VOTES TO HOLD RATES March 7, 2012 ALLISTER HEATH | CITY A.M. “Markets are already providing a degree of tightening, with some banks putting up mortgage rates. This is good news and means the MPC should stay put this month. There are signs the economy is recovering.” SIMON WARD | HENDERSON “Stop QE but offer ECB-style medium-term funding support to banks – [...]
RAPID RESPONSES March 7, 2012 Caught in the net [Re: A so-called mansion tax will not achieve fairness, yesterday] Aside from the obvious problems in administering a “mansion tax”, it’s clear that it’s not solely super-rich buyers who’d bear the brunt of an annual property levy, but long-term homeowners who may not be cash-rich but simply live in areas where house [...]
House price slump not finished yet March 6, 2012 HOUSE prices fell again in February, reversing January’s rise and continuing the slow downward trend of the year. Prices dropped 0.5 per cent in the month, following January’s 0.6 per cent rise, taking the average price to £160,118. Over the last three months, prices are down 1.1 per cent, and 1.9 per cent on February [...]
War on Britain’s aspirational classes March 6, 2012 THERE is something very wrong with Britain’s tax system. Imagine you are an aspiring, successful hard-working individual; after several years putting in the hours, you now earn £42,475 a year. You’re already a victim of the tax system: you pay no tax on your first £8,105, but then face 20 per cent tax on the [...]
War on Britain’s aspirational classes March 5, 2012 THERE is something very wrong with Britain’s tax system. Imagine you are an aspiring, successful hard-working individual; after several years putting in the hours, you now earn £42,475 a year. You’re already a victim of the tax system: you pay no tax on your first £8,105, but then face 20 per cent tax on the [...]