Debt interest payments are the amount the government need to pay to holders of government bonds. It is the cost of servicing public sector debt. One forecast by Pantheon Macroeconomics suggested that the UK’s debt interest bill would rise to £123bn for the current financial year alone, £35 billion higher than previously forecast and £54bn …
It’s been a good few decades for the top 1%, with big rises in income and wealth. But, what does it take to be in the top 1% by income, wealth, land-ownership and house values? If we look at the metric of wealth, a Swiss would need $8.5m, an American would need $5.8 million and …
Things can appear pretty bleak. We have warnings of a collapsing economy, record waiting lists, crumbling infrastructure and rising homelessness. The government might have changed, but the problems seem the same. Wages have stagnated and young people have low expectations of their future. It wasn’t always like this. In the post-war period, real wages were …
In 1999, Tony Blair made a pledge that 50% of young adults would go into higher education by the next century. And this is one government promise that has actually been achieved, Student numbers have risen, UCAS applications almost doubled. Students are told a degree is a passport to success, higher salary and cultural enrichment. …
One of the most common questions asked is, who owns UK National Debt? Often people assume that UK government debt is owned by foreign investors. However, foreign investors only hold about 25-30% of UK government debt. The rest is held by the UK private sector (pension funds, insurance companies e.t.c). Recently, the Bank of England …
Japan is the 4th largest economy in the world. It is a leader in electronic innovation, high-speed trains and robots. Yet, in the past two decades, it has seen an unprecedented decline in real wages. Whilst most economies have been trying to reduce inflation, Japan has been desperately trying to do the opposite – to …
How Ireland Overtook the UK economyWatch this video on YouTube In the post-war period the newly independent Republic of Ireland still lagged the richer UK economy across the sea. It was a largely agragrian economy, with wages 40% the level of the UK and widespread poverty. But, over the next few decades, the Irish …
There’s been no honeymoon for the new Labour government. Since the election in July, UK growth has continued its long-term trend of barely existing. Recent data disappointed analysts with output falling in the last two months. Monthly data is noisy, but it comes amidst business warning of a weaker labour market, with higher national insurance, …