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 …
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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An election Budget that does not address UK challenges
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 …
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