BlackRock’s UK chief investment strategist, Vivek Paul, has warned this week that pre-election promises of large tax cuts or spending increases could unsettle the bond markets again. There are clear echoes here of the turmoil that followed the Truss/Kwarteng mini-Budget back in 2022. But how worried should we be? These warnings should not be dismissed … Continue reading How much should we fear the return of the ‘bond vigilantes’?
Tag: government bonds
Is Liz Truss on the right track on ‘Covid debt’?
Liz Truss has pledged to put Covid debt on a ‘longer-term footing’ as part of her bid to become the next Prime Minister. The details are sketchy, but the proposal seems to be to extend the maturity of £311 billion of pandemic-related borrowing to lock in low interest rates, and to slow the pace of … Continue reading Is Liz Truss on the right track on ‘Covid debt’?
Why we don’t need tax rises to pay for Covid
How deep a hole are we in? The Institute of Economic Affairs has just published a primer I’ve written on the state of the public finances, which digs into this question. On the bright side, I argue that there is no need for any form of austerity, including tax rises, to fill a gap left … Continue reading Why we don’t need tax rises to pay for Covid
Plain-speaking Economics 