The independent pay review bodies are reportedly set to recommend pay increases of around 3pc for NHS staff and 4pc for teachers. However, the Government has only budgeted for a 2.8pc increase for public sector workers. This is broadly in line with expected price rises over the coming year, but still higher than the Bank … Continue reading The Government should hold the line on public sector pay
Category: financial markets
President Trump is gradually undermining confidence in the dollar, one tirade at a time
Donald Trump’s latest tirade against the head of the US central bank is so obviously negative for the dollar that you have to wonder whether the President is deliberately trying to undermine the US currency. Remarkably, the answer may indeed be ‘yes’. On Monday, Trump used his social media platform to call Federal Reserve Chair … Continue reading President Trump is gradually undermining confidence in the dollar, one tirade at a time
A presentation on the UK economy and monetary policy
Here are the slides from a presentation I gave earlier today to the Shadow Monetary Policy Committee hosted by the IEA. This covered the latest news on the global and the UK economies, the state of play on tariffs, the economic consequences of Mr Trump, how central banks should respond, and how I would vote … Continue reading A presentation on the UK economy and monetary policy
Why China can still win a trade war with the US
As every student of economics or history show know, free trade is a win-win. The escalation in the tariff war between the US and China will therefore be a lose-lose for both parties. Nonetheless, China is more likely to come out on top. This may seem counter intuitive. After all, China benefits from a huge … Continue reading Why China can still win a trade war with the US
Plain-speaking Economics 