This weekend the Sunday Telegraph led with Britain ‘heading towards IMF bailout’, citing three leading economists who are warning of a “1970s-style debt crisis unless the Chancellor changes course”. The three – Jagjit Chadha, Andrew Sentance and Willem Buiter – are not the usual suspects and their views should be taken seriously. The story was prompted … Continue reading Will the UK need an IMF bailout?
Tag: Budget
Better news on growth, but still not good enough
The latest GDP data should ease fears that the UK economy is sliding back into recession. But growth is still too weak to fix the public finances, or encourage hiring and investment, and there are already signs that any positive momentum is fading again. First, though, the good news. GDP grew by 0.3% in the … Continue reading Better news on growth, but still not good enough
The Government cannot take credit for the cuts in UK interest rates
The Bank of England’s decision to trim its key interest rate by another quarter point this week was widely expected, but there is still plenty to write about. Unfortunately, little of this is good news. For a start, why on earth is the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) still cutting rates when the Bank itself now … Continue reading The Government cannot take credit for the cuts in UK interest rates
A bitcoin windfall won’t save the Chancellor
This weekend the Sunday Telegraph reported that Rachel Reeves is eyeing a “£5bn Bitcoin sale” to ease the pressure on the public finances. Some commentators have grasped the wrong end of the stick here; one-off sales of financial assets could not be used to fill a “black hole” under the current fiscal rules, at least … Continue reading A bitcoin windfall won’t save the Chancellor
Plain-speaking Economics 