The quarterly ‘Manufacturing Outlook’ survey from Make UK (formerly the Engineering Employers’ Federation) is one of the better examples of its kind. It has clearly been written up by some serious economists, which I obviously think is a ‘good thing’. Nonetheless, the headlines appear to paint an overly gloomy picture of the prospects for the … Continue reading Prospects for UK manufacturing are brighter than Make UK suggests
Tag: recession
Why the Bank of England was right to raise rates
Many people have been baffled by the Bank of England’s decision to raise interest rates by a historically large three-quarters of a point this week, despite forecasting that the UK economy is sliding into recession. I understand this confusion, but there are three reasons why rates had to be increased. First, the job of the … Continue reading Why the Bank of England was right to raise rates
The cap on energy prices is a gamble that is about to pay off
Critics of ‘Trussonomics’ – and there are many – have been quick to claim that the new energy price plan puts its economic credibility at risk. Indeed, early estimates suggested that the ‘Energy Price Guarantee’ could cost the taxpayer £150 billion or more over two years, making it the most expensive economic policy in history. … Continue reading The cap on energy prices is a gamble that is about to pay off
Bank of England falls further behind in race to tame inflation
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has raised interest rates by just a quarter point, to 1.25 per cent. This was the fifth increase in as many meetings, but still leaves rates near historic lows. In my view, this was a mistake. This decision is hard to square with April’s consumer price inflation … Continue reading Bank of England falls further behind in race to tame inflation
Plain-speaking Economics 