UK Economics Focus UK Budget 2007 - Robbing Peter to pay Peter This was a bold, and indeed a big, Budget. But its impact on the economy will be minimal. It was designed to make a political, rather than an economic, impact, and in that regard it was brilliantly... 21st March 2007 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus UK Budget 2007 - Robbing Peter to pay Peter This was a bold, and indeed a big, Budget. But its impact on the economy will be minimal. It was designed to make a political, rather than an economic, impact, and in that regard it was brilliantly... 21st March 2007 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Focus Hungary: the sick man of Central Europe? GDP growth in Hungary will slump to 2% this year and 2.5% in 2008 as a result of the government’s latest attempt to shore up the public finances. But once fiscal consolidation is complete, we think... 15th March 2007 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus Budget 2007 Preview Gordon Brown will seek to use his eleventh and final Budget to underline his legacy as Chancellor. The economy has outpaced even his upbeat expectations over the last year and he is likely to announce... 8th March 2007 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus Budget 2007 Preview Gordon Brown will seek to use his eleventh and final Budget to underline his legacy as Chancellor. The economy has outpaced even his upbeat expectations over the last year and he is likely to announce... 8th March 2007 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Focus German VAT hike won't derail the economy There have been widespread fears that the imminent increase in VAT in Germany will bring the recent recovery in the euro-zone’s most important economy to a grinding halt. But an examination of... 13th December 2006 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus UK Pre-Budget Report 2006 This Pre-Budget Report was vintage Gordon Brown - a blizzard of statistics and a flurry of measures and announcements, most of them old, but without many substantive changes. The one noteworthy... 6th December 2006 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus UK Pre-Budget Report 2006 Preview Gordon Brown will give an upbeat assessment of the economic outlook in the Pre-Budget Report, with favourable implications for the public finances. But the big picture is that fiscal policy will be... 27th November 2006 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus The impact of VAT import fraud on the public finances In recent years the Treasury has lost an increasing amount of tax revenue to VAT import fraud. But this fraud is unlikely to have been as prevalent as some of the figures published in the press... 5th October 2006 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus Budget 2006 In macro-economic terms this was one of the least significant budgets in living memory. The net giveaway in the coming year was a mere £400 million, counterbalanced by a £400 million claw back the... 22nd March 2006 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus Budget 2006 In macro-economic terms this was one of the least significant budgets in living memory. The net giveaway in the coming year was a mere £400 million, counterbalanced by a £400 million claw back the... 22nd March 2006 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus Budget 2006 Preview We expect Gordon Brown’s tenth Budget to contain tax increases worth £3bn to £4bn, probably rather larger than most people will expect. If we are right, the resulting tightening of the fiscal stance... 8th March 2006 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus UK Budget: Building the new war chest We expect Gordon Brown’s tenth Budget to contain tax increases worth £3bn to £4bn, probably rather larger than most people will expect. If we are right, the resulting tightening of the fiscal stance... 8th March 2006 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus UK Pre-Budget Report - Bloodied, but unbowed Gordon Brown swapped his annual Santa Claus act for something closer to Robin Hood, taking from the rich oil companies to give to poorer families and pensioners. Sooner or later, however, he will have... 5th December 2005 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus No free lunch in corporate tax hikes Speculation that taxes will need to rise in the UK has largely assumed that households will bear the brunt of any increases. And yet the recent weakness of household spending and the contrasting... 28th November 2005 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus Pre-Budget Report 2005 - Preview This year’s Pre-Budget Report on December 5th will be an uncomfortable experience for Gordon Brown. Having been proved right on the economy last year, this time he will have to admit he has got it... 24th November 2005 · 1 min read
