Investors are mainly being spooked by global inflation fears, not UK politics. But the additional uncertainty created by the crisis in the Labour government is definitely not helping! Once again, UK government bonds (aka gilts) are making the news again, and not in a good way. The yields on these bonds can be read as … Continue reading How much should we worry about surging gilt yields?
Tag: QT
The case for a late Budget
The Chancellor has confirmed that the date of the Autumn Budget will be Wednesday 26 November. This is relatively late, raising fears that a longer period of speculation and uncertainty will undermine confidence even further, but there are always trade-offs. I can think of five reasons why waiting might make sense. First, and perhaps most … Continue reading The case for a late Budget
How could a bond market crisis unfold?
The yields on UK government bonds, commonly known as “gilts”, are now consistently the highest among the G7 group of advanced economies. Why is this, and why should the rest of us care? The numbers alone are disturbing. The cost of new government borrowing for ten years is now around 4.8% in the UK, compared … Continue reading How could a bond market crisis unfold?
The Government cannot take credit for the cuts in UK interest rates
The Bank of England’s decision to trim its key interest rate by another quarter point this week was widely expected, but there is still plenty to write about. Unfortunately, little of this is good news. For a start, why on earth is the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) still cutting rates when the Bank itself now … Continue reading The Government cannot take credit for the cuts in UK interest rates
Plain-speaking Economics 