It is not the time for more QE – the MPC should focus on tackling high inflation October 3, 2011 THE most recent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) minutes suggested that the Committee may be moving towards injecting more stimulus into the UK economy by restarting its policy of Quantitative Easing (QE). This would be a big mistake. It would confirm what many are beginning to suspect – that price stability and the 2 per cent [...]
A tactical speech laced with many contradictions October 3, 2011 IN MANCHESTER FORGET the Eurozone crisis. George Osborne is already fighting the 2015 general election. He used yesterday’s speech to talk over the heads of the Tory faithful to the electorate at large, often sounding more like a Prime Minister than a chancellor. Ever the master tactician, he couldn’t resist taking several swipes at the [...]
The monetary system needs to be reformed October 3, 2011 IT IS encouraging to see political debate start moving from monetary policy towards monetary regimes. Tinkering with the present system is a necessary but ultimately futile way to ensure a more stable economy, because it is the system itself that is the problem. Douglas Carswell MP is confronting these issues with a ten minute rule [...]
RAPID RESPONSES October 3, 2011 Osborne’s speech George Osborne’s announcement that he will focus on supporting small businesses is clearly good news, but recent research carried out by RSM Tenon shows that nearly a quarter of all entrepreneurs in the south say that the coalition government has had a negative impact on their business. The chancellor says that he recognises [...]
Why it is now the time to set out strict fiscal rules to stop over-spending for ever October 2, 2011 IN HIS speech at the Labour party conference last week shadow chancellor Ed Balls made an interesting suggestion. He argued that Britain should introduce a new set of fiscal rules to be independently monitored by the Office for Budgetary Responsibility (OBR). We should not reject the idea just because of the messenger. FISCAL RULES The [...]
Tories bereft of ideas when they need them most October 2, 2011 WHAT a difference a year makes. At the 2010 Tory conference, the party faithful were walking around in a blissful daze, barely able to contain their glee at being back in power after 13 years in the wilderness. The Office for Budget Responsibility, recently created by chancellor George Osborne, was forecasting economic growth of 2.6 [...]
Regulation threatens the City’s dominance October 2, 2011 CELEBRATIONS were understandably muted across the Square Mile last week when London once again topped the latest Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI). Muted, because the seriousness of the global economic situation means that all other issues are overshadowed. And muted, because clearly London’s competitiveness and primacy are under increasing threat. According to the GFCI, London [...]
RAPID RESPONSES October 2, 2011 Great expectation While I appreciate the argument – in Mark Speeks’s article on Friday – that the poor don’t fuel the economy, I think the piece underestimates the benefits of reducing their tax burden. It is short-sighted to think any additional income for the poor will be spent on groceries. Like all of us, the [...]
Things will only get worse for Labour until they discuss voters’ inflation concerns September 29, 2011 AS LABOUR gathered in Liverpool for its party conference this week, one of their top priorities was to fashion a message on the dominant issue in British politics today: the economy. They failed. FISCAL FAILURE On the fiscal side, the shadow chancellor Ed Balls, unveiled an economic recovery package that seemed like it had been [...]
I’m a priest who works in finance. Here is my take September 29, 2011 WHILE being interviewed during the Liberal Democrat Conference, the great pious voice of our collective conscious, also known as Vince Cable, solemnly stated that the reduction of the uncompetitive taxes on the “rich” would have to wait. His reasoning was that a reduction in tax on the lowest paid would result in greater overall spending. [...]