Economist, Visiting Professor, Lecturer, Writer, Public Speaker.
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, …
Continue reading “Another turbulent year looms – but so do opportunities”
It’s hard to find anything to like in the Autumn Statement delivered by Jeremy Hunt. While on the surface, the 2% cut in National Insurance contributions seems like a good idea, it looks worse the more you examine what it means and its implications. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) references to the ‘headroom’ to …
Continue reading “An election Budget that does not address UK challenges”
Framed as a budget to shrink debt and control inflation, Jeremy Hunt’s statement in the fifth fiscal event of this year essentially left most of the heavy lifting to 2025 and beyond. Of the measures announced, some three quarters were spending cuts, and just one quarter were tax increases. Of the £61.7 billion fiscal tightening …
Continue reading “Has the Chancellor tightened policy too much?”