As a keen cyclist, I went down to London last weekend to watch the Olympic road race. It was pretty exciting standing on the Fulham road watching the peleton go past. That part of London seemed pretty busy and nearby cafes were doing very well. However, in the centre of London, many shops and hotels …
The UK economy contracted by a provisional -0.7% in Q2 2012. This is a much bigger decline than most analysts expected. It means more bad news for the UK economy, struggling to regain positive economic growth. The biggest falls in economic output occurred in sectors such as: Agriculture – 2% Mining -5.9% Manufacturing – 1.4% …
It may appear that many countries in the Eurozone are on the verge of bankruptcy. Governments in the Eurozone are implementing savage austerity cuts as they seek to reduce their deficits. These austerity measures have created widespread unemployment, poverty and economic depression. However, although millions are experiencing the impact of debt crisis, it is ‘comforting’ …
Readers Question: How are we tied up with the European Union in respect to the national debt? In short, the EU has little direct impact on UK national debt. If we were in the Eurozone, our bond yields and debt situation would be very different. But, being outside the Eurozone means the UK debt is …
Readers Question: What do you think about Argentina’s economical future, with the current presidents politics and ~v22% inflation, taken in mind? Argentina performed relatively well since crisis of 2002 (see: Argentina Recovery and Crisis). Leaving their exchange rate peg enabled some re balancing in the economy and helped to boost exports. Importantly, it left the …
One thing I really struggle to understand at the moment is why any country would want to join the Euro. The experience of the past few years is that membership of the Euro can devastate your economy. Given a chance, half of the members of the Euro would wish they had never joined. Greece, Spain, …
Readers Question: What is the impact of debt on the housing market in the UK? If the UK is in such a debt crisis, what impact has this had on the housing market. Firstly, a debt crisis could imply both government debt and household debt. The UK is facing a combination of both (see: total …
For the past several months, the governor of the Bank of England has had to write a letter to the Chancellor explaining why UK inflation has been above the government’s target of 1-3%. April 2012 gives the first on target inflation figure (1-3%) since Dec 2009. Core inflation which strips out energy and food has …