Archives
- January 2014
- November 2013
- October 2013
- April 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
Categories
- Africa
- Age discrimination
- Agriculture
- aid
- Asia
- Australia
- Balance of Payments
- Balance of Trade
- Bank of England
- Banking
- China
- Company Insolvencies
- Competition Commission
- Consumer Expenditure
- Consumer Price Index
- Corporate losses
- crowding out
- Deflation
- Demographics
- Development
- Earnings
- economic growth
- Elasticity
- Employment
- Energy
- Energy supply and security
- Environment
- European Union
- eurozone
- Exchange Rates
- Externalities
- Ezine
- Family spending
- Fiscal stimulus
- Food price inflation
- Foreign Direct Investment
- G20
- GDP
- GDP per head
- Gender equality
- Gender pay gap
- Global Warming
- government borrowing
- government spending
- Greenhouse Gases
- Gross National Income
- Household income
- Household wealth
- Housing
- Human Development Index
- Immigration
- industrial production
- Inequality
- Inflation
- Infrastructure
- Interest rates
- International
- International Labour Organisation
- International Monetary Fund
- International Trade
- Internet
- Investment
- Ireland
- Japan
- Keynesian
- labour markets
- Least Developed Coutries
- Lending
- Low-income countries
- macroeconomic policy
- Manufacturing
- market failure
- mergers and takeovers
- Microeconomics
- migration
- Minimum pricing
- Minimum Wage
- Monetary Policy Committee
- Monetary Union
- Money Supply
- Multiplier Effect
- nationalisation
- News
- Obesity
- OECD
- Office for Budget Responsibility
- Office of Fair Trading
- Oil
- OPEC
- Population
- Pricing
- production
- productivity
- Protectionism
- Public Finances
- Quantitative Easing
- Quotas
- recession
- Renewable energy
- Retailing
- savings
- Service Sector
- Site Information
- Small Business
- sterling
- Strikes
- swine flu
- Tariffs
- taxation
- Transport
- Travel and Tourism
- UK economy
- UK industry
- Uncategorized
- UNCTAD
- unemployment
- US economy
- Workless households
- World Bank
- World Trade
- World Trade Organisation
Tags
average earnings Balance of Trade Bank of England China CPI Deflation developing countries Earnings economic growth Employment EU eurozone exports GDP gdp growth government borrowing government spending growth house prices imports Inflation Interest rates International Trade Investment Manufacturing MPC OECD private sector production Public Finances public sector public sector net borrowing quantitative easing recession RPI RPIX services sterling taxation unemployment unemployment rate US VAT World Trade youth unemployment
We’ve just lost £40m – how much was your share?
Incompetent government employees have just cost the UK £40m. That’s quite a bit more than I earn, yet as a taxpayer I have had to contribute to this waste of money. This is because of mistakes made in awarding the West Coast Main Line rail franchise to First Group, rather than the incumbents, Virgin Trains. Our new Transport Secretary, Patrick … Continue reading
Government borrowing continues to fall
Government borrowing in December fell by £2.2bn from £15.9bn in December 2010 to £13.7bn. This means that borrowing has now fallen for four consecutive months. The figures for the last financial year together with the current financial year are shown below. These are shown using the so-called “ex-measures” which exclude the temporary effects of financial interventions. Cumulative public sector net … Continue reading
Public sector finances still on track?
October’s public borrowing was worse than analysts had been expecting, but it is still possible that the government is on target to produce a budget deficit of £149bn, compared to £155bn in the previous financial year. The borrowing figure for October was £10.3bn, which was up from the £10.1bn of the previous year, but was the first time for five … Continue reading
Tough but fair! Really?
Today the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, announced a major welfare reform. From 2013, higher rate taxpayers will no longer be eligible for child benefit. Guessing that it is now too late to return the children, 1.2 million families will be hit in their piggy banks. Those who will lose out are couples where at least one parent earns … Continue reading
Record public sector borrowing in August
Public sector borrowing reached £15.9bn in August, which was a record figure for the month. This compares with £14.1bn in the same month last year. The current budget deficit which shows the difference between government spending and income rose by £2.3bn to £13.3bn. This is not very good news on the surface, and gives added reason to the chancellor to … Continue reading
Record UK trade gap
The deficit on trade in goods widened to £8.7bn in July, which is the biggest monthly figure since this current series of measurement began in 1998. This deficit compares with one of £7.5bn in June according to figures published yesterday by the Office of National Statistics. The UK’s balance of trade on goods and services also widened from £3.6bn in … Continue reading
Government spending and crowding out
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) in the US has just revised a forecast it made for the effect of the government deficit and debt on the crowding out of investment. They were taken to task for figures which seemed to overstate the relationship, which had given ammunition to some commentators who are in favour of severe cutbacks in government expenditure. … Continue reading
Have UK exports “hit the wall”?
The UK’s deficit on trade in goods and services widened to £3.8bn in May, compared to a deficit of £3.5bn in April. This is the worst balance of trade deficit for two years. These figures were published by the ONS today. The surplus on trade in services was £4.2bn in May, up from the £3.9bn recorded in April. On the … Continue reading
Some good news from the manufacturing sector
Car production rose by 54% in May to 104,365 vehicles, and was up 62.6% over the year-to-date, according to figures released by The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). They also announced that the production of commercial vehicles also rose by an incredible 129% in May compared to the same month last year to 10,745, and was up 55.7% … Continue reading
UK growth forecast lowered
The new, independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) believes that UK growth will be lower than previously forecast by the last Labour government. It projects that UK GDP growth will be 1.3% this year, and 2.6% next year. This compares with the previous government’s forecast for 2010 of 3.25%. The OBR also forecasts growth of 2.8% in both 2012 and … Continue reading
