UK Economics Update Conservatives jump on the waste wagon The Conservatives’ pledge to use efficiency savings to avoid the Government’s planned increases in national insurance in 2011 leaves both parties’ fiscal plans highly dependent on uncertain reductions... 30th March 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Weekly Mr Darling leaves lots of holes Mr Darling’s Budget may have provided £100m to repair potholes in the roads, but it left plenty of gaping holes in the fiscal arithmetic. Most obviously, the projected fall in the budget deficit... 29th March 2010 · 1 min read
UK Housing Market Focus Budget 2010 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 - 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 Update Budget 2010 – Stamp duty measures ignore the real issues While there can be little doubt that they will be popular among aspiring first-time buyers, it is fairly clear that the Chancellor’s stamp duty measures do nothing to resolve the real problems facing... 24th March 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Budget 2010 – Stamp duty measures ignore the real issues While there can be little doubt that they will be popular among aspiring first-time buyers, it is fairly clear that the Chancellor’s stamp duty measures do nothing to resolve the real problems facing... 24th March 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. 24th March 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. 24th March 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Deflation could undermine fiscal consolidation Worries about euro-zone fiscal plans have centred mainly on governments’ overly optimistic forecasts for real GDP growth. But weaker inflation could also pose a problem for the region’s public... 23rd March 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Which matters more – gross or net debt? The quarterly Flow of Funds data published by the Bank of Japan today shed a little more light on several hot topics, including households’ holdings of government securities and the huge difference... 23rd March 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Just what is a “credible plan” for the public finances? It has become almost a cliché to talk of the need for a “credible” medium-term plan for the public finances. But what should such a plan look like, when might it appear and what impact might it have? 22nd March 2010 · 1 min read
UK Economics Weekly Will Mr Darling spend or save? February’s better-than-expected public finances figures suggest that Alistair Darling could have between £5bn and £10bn at his disposal in Wednesday’s Budget. But will he spend it on preelection tax... 22nd March 2010 · 1 min read
UK Data Response Public Finances (Feb.) February’s fortuitously timed improvement in the public finances has given Mr Darling scope for some pre-election sweeteners in next week’s Budget. But make no mistake – a long and painful fiscal... 18th March 2010 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Euro-zone fiscal squeeze far from over While worries about Greece’s fiscal position have recently eased somewhat, the EC’s latest assessments underline the need for a prolonged bout of fiscal consolidation right across the euro-zone over... 17th March 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Bank of Japan does the decent thing The bare minimum the Bank of Japan could have got away with today was to extend the lifetime of the existing ¥10 trillion programme of three-month loans. In the event it has also doubled the size of... 17th March 2010 · 1 min read
