Tag: interest rates

Rishi Sunak should hit his economic targets, but probably won’t get any credit

In January the Prime Minister outlined his five priorities for 2023. As well as promises to cut NHS waiting lists and pass new laws to stop small boats, there were three pledges on the economy. These three at least should be deliverable. The first pledge was to “halve inflation this year to ease the cost … Continue reading Rishi Sunak should hit his economic targets, but probably won’t get any credit →

Why Mark Carney is wrong (again)

True to form, Mark Carney has made another unhelpful intervention in the Brexit debate. This time his remarks have generated more heat than light on the impact that the vote to leave the EU might have had on UK inflation. And by appearing to validate fears that UK interest rates have a lot further to … Continue reading Why Mark Carney is wrong (again) →

How valuable is ‘public sector net worth’?

Public finance geeks have been even more excited than usual about the latest statistical bulletin from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which includes new data on a balance sheet aggregate known as ‘public sector net worth’. What is this, and why does it matter? Public sector net worth, or PSNW, is a relatively comprehensive … Continue reading How valuable is ‘public sector net worth’? →

UK food price inflation set to fall sharply

First, the bad news. The lowlight of the latest UK inflation data was that the consumer price (CPI) measure of food price inflation jumped even further in March – to 19.1%. This contributed about 2.2 percentage points to the overall inflation rate of 10.1%. With ‘core’ inflation still stubbornly high (over 6%), food price inflation … Continue reading UK food price inflation set to fall sharply →