It’s comeback time for bond market vigilantes November 27, 2011 GUESS where we’ll be getting our cues from next week (hint: it’s an easy question). The answer, of course, is once again from the bond markets and the politicians. Fantastic. So something new to look forward to, then (or rather not). Glancing at the agenda, the most important political event to be aware of is [...]
£1bn for firms who hire youth November 24, 2011 The government will hand £1bn to private firms in a bid to tackle rising youth unemployment, Nick Clegg, the deputy Prime Minister, will announce today. Under the “Youth Contract”, firms will be eligible for a subsidy of £2,275 for each employee aged 18 to 24 years old they take on. There will be 160,000 such [...]
£1bn for firms who hire youth November 24, 2011 The government will hand £1bn to private firms in a bid to tackle rising youth unemployment, Nick Clegg, the deputy Prime Minister, will announce today. Under the “Youth Contract”, firms will be eligible for a subsidy of £2,275 for each employee aged 18 to 24 years old they take on. There will be 160,000 such [...]
Unemployment hits 15-year high November 16, 2011 Unemployment in Britain rose to the highest rate in 15 years and the number of young people without a job soared to a record high, official data showed. The government, under pressure to boost the economy, is constrained by its pledge to erase Britain’s huge budget deficit through a tough austerity plan, which includes the [...]
FTSE down as storm clouds surround Osborne November 29, 2011 The FTSE opened down as stuttering UK growth cast a shadow over chancellor George Osborne’s Autumn statement on the economy to be delivered later today. Grim forecasts on growth from the OECD yesterday painted a bleak picture as the UK struggles to get its economic recovery into gear. The government has already indicated that billions [...]
Keep a new Heathrow runway on the table December 4, 2011 GRIDLOCK is often the outcome of public sector walkouts so we can be grateful that last week’s strikes did not, as feared, severely impact upon Heathrow. Civil servants and others stepped in to prevent the lengthy queues and angry scenes that would have damaged our international reputation with both tourists and businesses. As a world-leading [...]
Osborne unveils £20bn loan plan November 27, 2011 The government will guarantee £20bn of UK bank debt over the next two years, chancellor George Osborne revealed yesterday, in a desperate bid to unfreeze credit markets. The Treasury’s credit easing programme will see the government underwrite chunks of lenders’ debt to bring their borrowing costs down, in return for which they will cut the [...]
Car sales rise unexpectedly in October November 4, 2011 Car sales unexpectedly moved up a gear, rising 2.6 per cent in October compared to the same month last year, driven by sales of fleet and business cars. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said sales to these customers outweighed a fall of 4.3 per cent in private purchases. Sales of cars to businesses [...]
Osborne in credit easing plan for businesses October 3, 2011 Chancellor George Osborne has said “credit easing” – a move aimed at cutting the cost of borrowing for hard-pressed businesses – would be triggered. The strategy would involve the public sector buying bonds issues by companies, was “potentially very significant” but full details would not be revealed until the chancellor’s autumn statement in November. In [...]
CLOUDS GATHER AHEAD ON OSBORNE’S BIG DAY November 28, 2011 THE UK will fall victim to a second recession, a leading economic forecaster warned yesterday, pushing up unemployment and further damaging George Osborne’s hopes that he will be able to meet his deficit reduction target. The figures will make for grim reading for the chancellor, who will today deliver his Autumn Statement just hours before millions of [...]