Coronavirus: Economists have a role to play in recovery April 15, 2020 Lockdowns are starting to be eased in Europe. Austria, Denmark, Italy and Spain are all moving back towards normality. At some point during May, the UK will follow. We can reflect on what the government has got right and wrong so far in the opening phase of the pandemic. This is emphatically not to apportion [...]
Oil producers must ‘take steps’ to cool surging prices, IEA boss warns October 4, 2018 The world's major oil producers must “take the right steps” to cool the market amid a continued surge in crude prices, the International Energy Agency boss has warned. The IEA's executive director, Fatih Birol, said: “It is now high time for all the players, especially those key producers and oil exporters, to consider the situation [...]
Act now to save free trade July 6, 2020 Free trade is a cornerstone of the global economy. It has lifted billions out of poverty and enabled the highest living standards than at any point in human history. It is therefore worrying — although not surprising given the impact of coronavirus on economic activity — that we have seen a stark drop in global [...]
Offshore windfall? Industry could be worth $1 trillion by 2040 October 25, 2019 Offshore wind could become a $1 trillion (£779bn) industry by 2040, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA). Although electricity generated through offshore wind farms currently accounts for 0.3 per cent of the world’s power, a combination of falling costs and supportive government policies will see capacity increase 15-fold over the [...]
FTSE falls 1.5 per cent as Centrica losses weigh down index February 13, 2020 The FTSE 100 fell 1.5 per cent at 7,451.11 this morning as a 15 per cent drop in Centrica shares dragged it down due to hits from a number of one-off impairment charges relating to its oil & gas assets and nuclear power plant stake. London’s premier index was also hit by falls of over [...]
Coronavirus: The government’s job retention scheme needs some more tweaking March 26, 2020 With businesses ordered to close and workers to self-isolate, the government is attempting to protect the wages of those impacted to avoid them breaking quarantine to go job-hunting. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), which offers payments to affected workers of 80 per cent of income, capped at £2,500 a month, provides some security, but [...]
After a year in the job, Boris Johnson is a disappointment to even his biggest fans July 24, 2020 On the Institute of Economic Affairs’ Live With Littlewood show this week, I was asked to score Boris Johnson’s first year as Tory leader. I am accustomed to being the token left-winger (relatively speaking) on the IEA’s show, which tends to feature economists and journalists who identify firmly on the Conservative right. I was therefore [...]
This pandemic may lead to more trade barriers, but is that such a bad thing? March 25, 2020 The current crisis dominates everything, from trade to everyday life. But, within a relatively short space of time, it will pass. What next? What will be the “new normal” after coronavirus? A key policy aim across the west for many decades since the Second World War was to reduce barriers to international trade. But it [...]
Trump authorises new sanctions on Iran September 18, 2019 US President Donald Trump has said that he will ramp up sanctions against Iran after alleging the country was behind an attack on Saudi Arabian oil refineries. “I have just instructed the Secretary of the Treasury to substantially increase Sanctions on the country of Iran!” the President tweeted. Read more: Iranian leader says Saudi attacks [...]
Parties’ spending pledges under scrutiny on day of missed Budget November 6, 2019 Boris Johnson’s plans to increase public spending and cut taxes leave “very little scope” for meeting the Conservatives’ pledge to reduce the national debt, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said. Read more: UK public spending to hit 1970s levels after election, think tank says In a warning to both the Tories and Labour, [...]