Economics
Lowest income families hit hardest by inflation – here’s why
Inflation has hit the lowest income families hardest since recession because they spend the most proportionally of any income group on utilities, which have shot up in price over the decade. Lower income families are also likely to have been hardest by inflation since Brexit, due to the rise in the price of food and non-food essential items, which they spend disproportionately more on. While many ‘big ticket’ items have actually fallen in price over the last 20 years: cars are 12...
Public sector workers “at breaking point” as inflation hits 3%
More misery for five million public sector workers as their wages take yet another hammering GMB says public sector workers are at breaking point as inflation hits three per cent. The latest ONS figures show CPI is up to 3 per cent from 2.9 per cent - a five-and-a-half year high. The rise means more than five million public sector workers will see an even bigger real terms wage cut due to the pay cap. On average, each public sector...
Britain is actually £490 billion poorer than we thought ONS reveals
Shock figures released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show that Britain is £490 billion poorer than was thought. Britain’s stock of wealth has fallen from a surplus of of £469 billion to a net deficit of £22 billion. The UK has totally lost its reserve of foreign assets, and is actually in a much more vulnerable deficit, losing any safety margin just Theresa May’s government is attempting a breakthrough in a crucial stage of Brexit negotiations. This massive...
Bilateral trade between the United Kingdom and Malaysia reaches record high levels
The United Kingdom and Malaysia have strong economic ties and a long history of partnership in different fields of economy. What is even better is that these ties will get even stronger in the next period. Namely, UK Export Finance, the popular export credit agency from the United Kingdom, has decided to boost the support for the trade between Malaysia and the United Kingdom to record-high five billion Pounds or 28.35 billion Ringgits. This is definitely good news for the...
Debt-management experts warn of “same conditions” to global financial crisis
Debt-management experts have sent out a warning citing "dangerous debt trends" currently plaguing British economy which resemble the conditions during the global financial crisis. With insolvency rates rising for the first time since 2008, Bell & Company are warning of the reasons behind this worrying trend and how to avoid falling into financial trouble. The credit crash of 2008 was partly caused irresponsible businesses lending money to consumers who didn’t have the ability to afford the repayments on what they...
Can John McDonnell beat the Tories on economic credibility?
By Benjamin Jenkins At the Labour Party Conference this week John McDonnell is keen to demonstrate Labour’s economic credibility and the alternatives the opposition would offer in power. The big headlines so far have been about his vow to renationalise rail, water, Royal Mail and energy industries with "market value determined by parliament". - In opinion polls these are popular policies with the nation and would bring the UK back into line with many European countries, some of whose nationalised...
Moodys downgrade UK debt to lowest ever credit rating – citing “Brexit challenges”
Moodys have downgraded UK debt to AA2, the lowest ever credit rating for UK citing "Brexit challenges" as the main reason for the drop. The UK lost its remaining AAA rating (S&P) four days after Brexit vote - but this is the first ever time a major credit rating agency has cut the country to third rank. Further "loss of economic strength" was cited as the main reason for the cut with growth expected to halve this year. The business also...
OECD see “synchronised momentum for global economy” – except Brexit-stricken UK
The OECD has published its Interim Economic Outlook showing the world economy is picking up momentum - except for the UK. The pace of expansion is projected to be faster this year than in 2016, with a further uptick expected in 2018. The US is projected to grow by 2.4 per cent in 2018 and Germany, France, Italy and the general Euro area are also forecast to post strong results. Conversely, the previously identified growth slowdown in the United Kingdom is...
What is albedo and why is it so important?
Climate change is a divisive issue. The US’ stance on the Paris Agreement of 2015 is just one example of that. And while disagreements over the extent of the threat posed by climate change are all too common, the world’s countries are even more divided on how best to address that threat. From reforestation to electric cars, the potential solutions are many and diverse in nature. One mooted remedy is altering the surface albedo of the earth. For the unfamiliar,...