Tag: economy

Weekly wrap – Government policies continue to do more harm than good

Including thoughts on the “productivity puzzle”, bond yields, monetary policy credibility, and how the government’s clumsy interventions are still costing jobs and adding to rental inflation... Theme of the Week This week’s most interesting economic story was worth a piece of its own: “Six questions and answers on the new productivity data”. In short, the … Continue reading Weekly wrap – Government policies continue to do more harm than good →

Six questions and answers on the new UK productivity data

New ONS analysis shows that UK productivity has held up much better than previously thought. Here’s a quick Q&A including what this could mean for the Budget, and what it is telling us about Brexit... This week the ONS published new analysis of the key measure of labour productivity, namely output per hour worked. This … Continue reading Six questions and answers on the new UK productivity data →

Why the Bank should follow the ECB and hike rates

There are strong arguments against raising UK interest rates as far as the markets are currently expecting. But I do not believe these arguments are sufficient to justify not raising rates at all... This is an extended version of my submission to the Shadow Monetary Policy Committee run by CityAM, where I reluctantly voted for … Continue reading Why the Bank should follow the ECB and hike rates →

Weekly wrap – Has the UK economy really “turned the corner”?

Including thoughts on UK GDP, “rocket and feather” pricing at the pumps, should the BoE follow the ECB, US bond market intervention, German defence spending, and the latest UK evidence on “second round” effects... Theme of the Week The reassuringly strong GDP data added to evidence that the UK economy is holding up better than … Continue reading Weekly wrap – Has the UK economy really “turned the corner”? →