Inflation fears as tax on pasties bites March 28, 2012 GEORGE Osborne’s pasty tax and other hikes in VAT will push up the cost of living even further, according to official figures out yesterday, while new data suggests higher wages could also be about to stoke inflation. The tax on hot food sold in retail outlets, along with higher duties on fuel, cigarettes and alcohol, will [...]
Budget could be surprisingly radical March 18, 2012 MAYBE, just maybe, this Budget could end up being a big deal, a defining shift in direction for the coalition and the day George Osborne finally rediscovers his radical inner self. I certainly hope so, and there are growing signs that this may be the case – but instigating a revolution would require breaking away [...]
Supermarket price war hits food inflation December 13, 2011 THE PACE of price rises slowed slightly last month as the supermarket price war cut inflation and petrol prices fell, according to data from the Office for National Statistics, but the cost of living is still soaring relative to wages. Consumer prices (CPI) rose by 4.8 per cent in the 12 months to November, down [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 16, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES HEDGE FUND PIONEER BACK FOR ASIA VENTURE William Bollinger, one of the pioneers of London’s hedge fund industry, has come out of retirement to launch a new venture – in Singapore. A protégé of the renowned investor Julian Robertson and a former donor to the Labour party, Mr Bollinger set up Egerton Capital, [...]
The unions are holding back better pay deals November 30, 2011 IT MIGHT have been the worst general strike for a generation, but it clearly failed to take off. Apart from the closure of my children’s school, and the vast army of police protecting parliament, I honestly didn’t notice much impact from it. As the Prime Minister said, in the end it felt a bit of [...]
RAPID RESPONSES October 19, 2011 DNA of innovation I’d like to draw Tim Hammond’s [Innovation first, Rapid Responses, yesterday] attention to the computer, transistor and integrated circuit. Together they have transformed the world far more than the jet engine did, and are all more recent inventions. Then there are new technologies in the life sciences, such as DNA sequencing and [...]
Firms: cut red tape to boost jobs October 12, 2011 A CHORUS of business groups and think-tanks yesterday called for a raft of supply side measures to boost the economy and cut unemployment, which rose to 8.1 per cent in August. Youth unemployment in particular shot up to 721,000 — excluding full time students — representing 20 per cent of 16-24 year olds. Regulations under [...]
Inflation at three-year high of 5.2pc October 18, 2011 Inflation in Britain hit a three-year high in September driven by soaring gas and electricity bills, data showed, adding to the severe squeeze on Britons’ living standards as wages have failed to keep up with rising prices. The jump highlights the risk to the Bank of England’s recent move to revive the faltering economic recovery [...]
Inflation at three-year high of 5.2pc October 18, 2011 Inflation in Britain hit a three-year high in September driven by soaring gas and electricity bills, data showed, adding to the severe squeeze on Britons’ living standards as wages have failed to keep up with rising prices. The jump highlights the risk to the Bank of England’s recent move to revive the faltering economic recovery [...]
Supermarket price war dents inflation November 15, 2011 CONSUMER price inflation in the UK dropped slightly in October, figures out yesterday from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed, though it remains well above the Bank of England’s target. Headline CPI inflation fell from 5.2 per cent in the year to September to five per cent last month. A 0.9 per cent fall [...]