The Bank of England’s decision to cut UK interest rates to 5% this week was finely balanced but surely correct. The aim now should be to return rates to a 'neutral' level of around 4% early next year. The obvious starting point is that CPI inflation has now been at or very close to the … Continue reading Bank of England rate cut should be the first of many
Tag: services
Brexit Britain’s resilient services sector is proving the gloomsters wrong
Many people raised concerns about the patchy coverage of services in the Brexit deal negotiated between the UK and EU, known as the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). The gaps have already caused some significant problems, especially for smaller firms. In principle, the TCA offered extensive market access for UK services businesses, including the mutual … Continue reading Brexit Britain’s resilient services sector is proving the gloomsters wrong
Brexit tide is finally turning
Brexit is not yet done and there are plenty of problems that still need fixing, especially in Northern Ireland and in the service sectors. Nonetheless, public perceptions of Brexit have improved significantly, business concerns are fading, and now we have hard evidence of a quick rebound in UK goods exports to the EU too. According … Continue reading Brexit tide is finally turning
What’s behind the relatively large fall in UK GDP? (reprise…)
On Sunday, Labour’s Anneliese Dodds tweeted that the UK ‘had the worst recession and the worst growth of any major economy last year’, and that ‘Covid closed much of our economy, but the Conservatives crashed it’. Of course, this is just a tweet and almost all politicians try to score points in this way. Nonetheless, … Continue reading What’s behind the relatively large fall in UK GDP? (reprise…)
Plain-speaking Economics 