One of the oddities about the narrative on the direction of interest rates is the argument that, because consumer price inflation is still above the 2% target, the Bank of England cannot cut interest rates. That suggests that interest rate policy changes immediately impact the current inflation rate in the short term. However, this view …
Another turbulent year looms – but so do opportunities
Last year was turbulent for the world economy, and this one may be no different. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 had its full effect in 2023, reducing real incomes by pushing inflation up, particularly for food and energy. In addition, interest rate increases, put in place to fight the sharp rise in inflation, …
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Mini Budget 2022: all the money is on tax cuts
Friday’s mini-Budget was anything but small. It’s the biggest tax-cutting Budget since the ‘Barber’ boom Budget of 1972 or 50 years ago. Unfortunately, the parallels are not good, as that Budget did not end well. Eventually, it led to the loss of a general election by Conservative prime minister Ted Heath. Time will …
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