DeFi-ing the rules: five opportunities and five risks of decentralised finance June 29, 2022 In the Star Wars universe, the Force is a mystic energy field generated by living beings that binds the galaxy together. The ability to wield the Force gives Jedi Knights their superhuman abilities, making them peacekeepers of the galaxy. But how powerful would the Jedi be if every ‘transaction’ that used the Force had to [...]
D-Day for Rishi Sunak: What do City insiders expect from the Autumn Budget? October 27, 2021 In today’s Autumn Budget, Chancellor Rishi Sunak will outline how he plans to “drive growth while keeping the public finances on a sustainable path”. City A.M. checked in with a number of Square Mile professionals this morning to see what they hope or expect the Budget will bring today. VAT Yesterday the news broke that there will [...]
Calls for at least £15bn funding for remediation works to tackle cladding crisis October 26, 2021 The government has been called on to announce more funding to tackle the cladding crisis at tomorrow’s Budget. Law firm Irwin Mitchell also called for measures including giving leaseholders up-front government funding for remediation works, with no repayment obligation. While the government has announced £5bn to address the issue so far, the sum required is [...]
Will the world economy avoid an inflationary bust? March 23, 2022 Today’s high inflation is being compared to the 1970s. However, robust consumer spending, fuelled by pandemic savings, makes for a different set of circumstances. Memories of the 1970s were evoked as the price of Brent crude oil temporarily climbed above $139 a barrel in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. That was a period [...]
GDP growth falls short of expectations, inching 0.1 per cent higher in October December 10, 2021 The UK’s economic growth inched just 0.1 per cent in October, according to the latest figures. The figure remains 0.5 per cent below its pre-pandemic level, the Officer for National Statistic found, falling short of economist and analyst expectations after experts had forecast a 0.4 per cent increase. Construction and hospitality were among the hardest [...]
Universal Credit uplift end may hit 660,000 low-paid key workers July 24, 2021 More than 660,000 low-paid key workers, including nurses, supermarket staff and social carers, will be among the millions of people affected when the Universal Credit uplift ends in the autumn, new figures suggest. The Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) said its research shows that London, the South East and the North West [...]
Perfect energy storm: Do the gas price hikes mean your bills will rise? September 20, 2021 Government ministers and energy companies are in crisis talks today, as the price of gas has soared in recent weeks, putting several energy suppliers out of business and forcing some factories to stop production altogether. The price of wholesale gas has surged by 250 per cent since the beginning of the year and added 70 [...]
On the global stage, is 2022 the happy new year we’ve been hoping for? January 6, 2022 As ever, Oscar Wilde put it best: “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” Optimism, the most underrated quality in our cynical age, is necessary to get through the day. Analytically, it is also often of more use than the doom and gloom that passes for the [...]
Political chaos in Kenya deepens fast: Raila Odinga refuses to accept William Ruto’s presidential win August 16, 2022 Prolonged political chaos looms in Kenya as opposition leader Raila Odinga, the establishment’s favourite, declared this afternoon that he will not accept the official outcome of the 2022 presidential election. Yesterday, Kenya’s electoral committee said William Ruto won the election, which took place a week ago. However, Ruto’s opponent, Odinga, stated today that “a violation [...]
IoD Chief Economist Kitty Ussher on how the UK can balance the books January 11, 2022 This article first appeared in ICAS’ CA magazine. We emerge from the pandemic with cautious optimism – and a huge fiscal hangover. How do we balance the books and what role can CAs play in supporting the economy’s nascent recovery? IoD Chief Economist Kitty Ussher shares her thoughts Kitty Ussher is sitting in a meeting room at the [...]