On Thursday (19 December), the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will reveal its latest interest rate decision. Those of us hoping that the recent bad economic news will prompt another cut are set to be disappointed. Believe it or not, most forecasters still expect Rachel Reeves’ first Budget to boost the economy in … Continue reading Stalling economy unlikely to sway the Bank of England
Tag: GDP
Project Rejoin’s ‘zombie statistics’ are doing no-one any favours
I often come across ‘zombie statistics’ for my collection of ‘bad Brexit takes’. Here’s a classic example for those not familiar with the genre. This week the Guardian published an article by Polly Toynbee which included the claim that “the Office for National Statistics says Brexit cost the UK £1m an hour in 2022”. This … Continue reading Project Rejoin’s ‘zombie statistics’ are doing no-one any favours
Is Britain really fated for economic decline?
Another day, another flurry of bad news on the fallout from October’s Budget. The BDO Monthly Business Trends indices - which pull together the results of all the main UK business surveys – show that confidence has fallen to the lowest level in almost two years, with output and employment down, and only inflation up. … Continue reading Is Britain really fated for economic decline?
More pain to come as Budget measures bite
The jump in inflation in October was not a big surprise after the 10% increase in household fuel bills, but the cost-of-living crisis will worsen before it gets better. Most commentators expect the measures in last month’s Budget to add to inflation next year, as businesses pass on the costs of the large increases in … Continue reading More pain to come as Budget measures bite
Plain-speaking Economics 