Financial markets are betting this week that the Bank of England will not cut its key interest rates but leave them on hold at 4.75%. The market consensus from Trading Economics is that the 9-strong committee on Thursday, the 19th, will vote 8:1 to leave the UK Bank rate at 4.75%. That is despite annual …
Immediate reaction to the October Budget, 2024
This is the first Labour Budget since 2010, and the first by a woman in UK history. It is aimed at raising economic growth in the long run, funded by tax rises and increased borrowing in the short term. The tax rises mainly came from employers’ National Insurance contributions and employers’ contributions to pensions, which …
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A political budget – one for the short term economically not the long
Nothing announced in the Budget on Wednesday was a surprise because it was all leaked in advance. But that did not make it any less surprising in one regard: the lack of any bold action to deal with the economic challenges facing the UK of an aging population, poor productivity, the need to reform the …
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