UK Economics Focus Emergency Budget 2010: Tough but tender The new coalition Government has made an industrious start. But it still faces some major policy challenges if it is to achieve the multiple goals of sorting out the public finances, improving... 22nd June 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus Emergency Budget Preview The new Governments emergency Budget on June 22 will mark the beginning of the biggest fiscal squeeze seen since the end of the Second World War. This will act as a significant drag on the economy... 15th June 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus Can private sector hiring offset public sector job cuts? With public sector job cuts looming, the outlook for employment hinges on whether or not hiring in the sector picks up pace. While some recent indicators of employment intentions have been encouraging... 7th June 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus Indebtedness not a big problem for the corporate sector Companies balance sheets are in a broadly healthy state, suggesting that firms can avoid the prolonged period of deleveraging facing other parts of the economy. But there are plenty of other reasons... 1st June 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus Could we be wrong about inflation? If we are wrong in expecting UK consumer price inflation to fall back over the next year or so, the consequences for the economy - higher interest rates alongside a huge fiscal squeeze - could be... 19th May 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus UK Election Preview - The phoney fiscal debate The outcome of the general election on May 6 is unlikely to transform the basic trajectory of the UK economy over the next five years. Whoever gains power will find their economic policy priorities... 21st April 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus Budget 2010 - Still putting off the inevitable This was a clever budget which made the most of very difficult circumstances. The Chancellor largely avoided the temptation to bribe the voters with their own money. There was a package of tax cuts... 24th March 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus Budget 2010 Preview - A holding operation Alistair Darling’s third Budget will be hardly recognisable as the last before a general election. With the UK’s budget deficit baring comparison with that of Greece, the markets and credit rating... 15th March 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus QE a year on Without the Bank of Englands programme of quantitative easing (QE) launched a year ago, the economy would probably still be in recession. However, the policy has clearly not worked well enough to kick... 4th March 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus As many Eastern Europeans going as coming Recent migration figures suggest that immigration into the UK has slowed sharply, while the number of migrants leaving the UK has risen. We think that net migration flows are now back to, or even... 25th February 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus Will the UK catch up in the global recovery? The meagre 0.1% rise in GDP in Q4 showed that the UK is still lagging behind in the global recovery stakes. We think that the UK will fall even further behind over the next year or two. But further... 27th January 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus Pre-Budget Report 2009 - Still waiting for the axe to fall Consumers are likely to bear the brunt of the looming tax rises and government spending cuts. The worst year of the fiscal squeeze looks likely to be 2011, when we think that it could knock some 2.5%... 9th December 2009 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus How will consumers fare in the fiscal squeeze? Consumers are likely to bear the brunt of the looming tax rises and government spending cuts. The worst year of the fiscal squeeze looks likely to be 2011, when we think that it could knock some 2.5%... 2nd December 2009 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus Pre-Budget Report 2009 Preview - Going for broke? Consumers are likely to bear the brunt of the looming tax rises and government spending cuts. The worst year of the fiscal squeeze looks likely to be 2011, when we think that it could knock some 2.5%... 25th November 2009 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus UK faces a decade of high unemployment The recent improvement in the unemployment figures has quietened concerns about the labour market. But we think that much of the labour market adjustment is yet to come. We continue to expect... 12th November 2009 · 1 min read
