The Madness of Spending Money to Deal with CutsWatch this video on YouTube In the past two years, I’ve spent £450 fixing broken suspension on my car. I’m not the only one, Kwik Fit estimated the costs to motorists from pothole damage to be £1.7bn. Yet fixing roads has suffered from government cut backs, especially …
Since 2020, Spain has been one of Europe’s best-performing economies. Despite Covid, it has grown by 8%, outperforming the likes of the UK, Germany and France. In 2024, Spanish growth was an impressive 3.1%, (and according to the boast of a Spanish minister), accounting for 50% of all the EU’s economic growth. How the Spanish …
In 1973, in response to the Yom Kippur War, OPEC introduced an oil embargo which caused prices to rise 300%. It ushered in an era of high inflation and political volatility. In 1979, the Iranian revolution caused another 300% rise in oil prices which caused a secondary inflation shock and the deep recession of 1981. …
In the past 12 months, UK house prices have once again started to rise, with house price inflation reaching 6%. Even the end of stamp duty in April, did not prevent prices rising by £3,000 in May, according to the Nationwide. It means prices have regained their previous peak of 2022. However, the rise …
Since the start of the year the dollar has fallen 9%. The global reserve currency is under pressure. (BTW: real problem in Japan was 30 and 40 year bonds) Yet at the same time, bond yields are rising creating a headache for the government and financial system. In Japan, the recent surge in bond …
The 1980s was a decade of divides. The proud industrial heartlands of the north suffering irreversible decline. The City of London enjoying an unprecedented boom. In the early 80s, Unemployment soared to the highest level since the Great Depression, manufacturing fell off a cliff. But not everyone suffered in the 80s. Financial liberalisation and tax …
Just when you think it couldn’t get any worse, the threat of a global trade war has contributed to confidence in the UK economy plummeting to record lows. The IPSOS economic index is running at the lowest level since records began. But, it’s more than just international turmoil; dissatisfaction with the economy has been building …
House Prices – What Happens Next?Watch this video on YouTube Here is a graph that often surprises me. If we adjust UK house prices for inflation, they are the same level as 2003. In other words, if you bought a house in 2003, ignore the effects of inflation, then the average house hasn’t increased in …