President Trump has surely hit a new low with his threats to impose tariffs on European allies for daring to challenge his ambition to “acquire” Greenland. But the UK should not overreact and especially should not retaliate, whether with tariffs of our own or with other economic and financial sanctions. For a start, Trump’s latest … Continue reading How should the UK respond to Trump’s tariff threats over Greenland?
Tag: economy
What to make of the latest UK GDP data
It is great to be able to start with some good news… The 0.3% growth in the UK economy in November was a bit better than consensus expectations of around 0.1%, with some favourable revisions to previous data as well. The detail showed that the bounce in November was driven in part by a rebound in car … Continue reading What to make of the latest UK GDP data
Why Labour shouldn’t try to claim credit for the FTSE’s record highs
A couple of weeks ago, the Chancellor was widely criticised for calling the FTSE 100’s climb past 10,000 a “vote of confidence in Britain’s economy”. As many commentators pointed out at the time (including myself), the FTSE 100 is dominated by large global companies, while the more domestically focused FTSE 250 has underperformed. I would … Continue reading Why Labour shouldn’t try to claim credit for the FTSE’s record highs
Why Labour’s “build, baby, build” mission is struggling to take off
Steve Reed, the newish Secretary of State for Housing, has certainly brought fresh energy to the role. This has even extended to waving MAGA-style caps with Trump-like calls to “build, baby, build!”. But while it is still early days, little has improved on the ground. The construction sector is worth watching closely for at least … Continue reading Why Labour’s “build, baby, build” mission is struggling to take off
Plain-speaking Economics 