UK Economics Update Monetary Indicators Monitor (Aug.) The pick-up in the Monetary Policy Committee’s preferred measure of money supply growth has continued to fade. With bank lending so weak, the improvement never looked likely to last. 31st August 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Signs of slowdown keep rates on hold Today’s decision to leave interest rates on hold again presumably reflected growing signs that the recovery in the UK and global economies is running out of steam. With an enormous fiscal squeeze... 5th August 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Monetary Indicators Monitor (Jul.) The recent pick-up in the Monetary Policy Committee’s favoured measure of the money supply may already be fading. Meanwhile, bank lending is still struggling to rise. 29th July 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Monetary Indicators Monitor (Jul.) The recent pick-up in the Monetary Policy Committee’s favoured measure of the money supply may already be fading. Meanwhile, bank lending is still struggling to rise. 29th July 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update No quick fix for bank lending Today’s paper on financial regulation beefs up the Government’s plans to expand the Bank of England’s toolkit. But there are still big uncertainties about how this will operate in practice, while the... 26th July 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Bank privatisations unlikely to support the recovery Recent press reports have suggested that the Government may be considering an early sale of some of its banking sector assets. However, any sales are unlikely to improve the fiscal outlook and may... 22nd July 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update How can the Government get banks to lend? One of the Government’s biggest economic challenges is getting the banks to lend more, with the major banks reportedly meeting with the Chancellor today to discuss the issue. In the near-term, this is... 15th July 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Case for near-term hike fading Today’s no-change decision confirms that the majority of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) still sees no pressing need to tighten monetary policy. With the biggest fiscal squeeze in decades getting... 8th July 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Monetary Indicators Monitor (Jun.) Growth of the Monetary Policy Committee’s favoured measure of the money supply has continued to pick up pace, but we doubt that this means that a strong pick-up in money spending is soon to come. 29th June 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Banks still in no position to lend much more Given that the Bank of England has been criticised for not shouting loudly enough about the risks of a banking crisis, the gloomy tone of its latest Financial Stability Report (FSR) is perhaps... 25th June 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Budget squeeze on household finances to weigh on house prices Fears that a rise in capital gains tax would rapidly destabilise the fragile house price recovery appear to have been overdone. But the scale of the fiscal squeeze announced by the Chancellor today... 22nd June 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Budget squeeze on household finances to weigh on house prices Fears that a rise in capital gains tax would rapidly destabilise the fragile house price recovery appear to have been overdone. But the scale of the fiscal squeeze announced by the Chancellor today... 22nd June 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update UK Budget Checklist This checklist is intended to help clients keep track of the important measures and numbers announced during the Chancellor’s Budget speech at 12.30pm and to provide some instant context. 22nd June 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update What if the emergency Budget raises VAT? There is clearly a strong chance that Tuesday’s emergency Budget contains a rise in VAT. While this might make the MPC’s job a bit trickier, we doubt that it would push the Committee into raising... 17th June 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update What if the emergency Budget raises VAT? There is clearly a strong chance that Tuesday’s emergency Budget contains a rise in VAT. While this might make the MPC’s job a bit trickier, we doubt that it would push the Committee into raising... 17th June 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update OBR forecasts do not point to a soft Budget The lower path of public borrowing projected by the Office for Budget Responsibility might seem to relieve some of the pressure for an additional fiscal tightening in next week’s Budget. But we don’t... 14th June 2010 · 1 min read
