Economics
Pay in real terms won’t be back to 2007 level until 2025
Shocking new analysis by the Resolution Foundation has revealed pay in real terms won’t be back to 2007 level until 2025. According to the research average annual pay peaked in the autumn of 2007 at £31,644 (in 2016 prices). Once inflation is taken into account, average pay will not be back at those levels until the start of 2025 - some 17 years since the financial crash struck. The Resolution Foundation's report, Freshly Squeezed, warns that Britain is on course for the...
Chancellor scraps stamp duty for first time buyers
The chancellor has announced stamp duty will be scrapped for first time buyers on homes up to £300,000 and up to £500,000 in high price areas. The move will affect roughly 80 per cent of first time buyers, and will come as a huge relief for people who are struggling to get on to the property ladder. Philip Hammond was under pressure to deliver a game-changing Budget today, and after a string of concerning economic data he saved the eye-catching announcement...
Study reveals fascinating inter-generational split over trust of economy
A new study has revealed a fascinating inter-generational divide over trust on the economy. Despite both parties being neck-and-neck overall, the Sky Data poll found huge splits between young and old. Of 18 to 34-year-olds, 62 per cent want Labour in charge of the nation's finances, versus 28 per cent for the Tories. Jeremy Corbyn's party also scrapes a narrow win among 35 to 54-year-olds, who favour it 41 per cent to the Conservatives' 39 per cent. But among those...
Let’s see how Hammond will defend these figures
Philip Hammond will present the Budget next week amidst new global figures that show the UK is now bottom of the growth league among major economies in Europe and North America. The data on GDP up to Q3 2017 puts Britain significantly behind its peers, dropping below Belgium, Italy and France. The UK economy expanded by just 0.4 per cent in the third quarter of this year, new early estimates from the Office for National Statistics show, which brings the year-on-year...
UK Trading Options with the Rest of the World
Shanker Singham an acclaimed financial analyst wrote an op-ed for The Times in which he extolled the virtues of a Brexit vis-à-vis the UK’s trading possibilities with the rest of the world. The rising problems associated with regulation in the global economy are having far-reaching implications on trading activity. The Brexit referendum on June 23, 2016 did not precipitate the decline in global economic activity – it was a symptom of it. The global financial crisis of 2008/2009 was associated...
Claims Brexit means “taking back control” exposed as myth by trade White Paper
No one in Britain voted for their jobs, public and health services, employment and environmental protections to be sold down the river to the lowest bidder, says union GMB, the UK’s general union, says claims Brexit means 'taking back control' have been exposed as a myth by the Government’s new trade white paper. Liam Fox’s paper, released on the eve of the next round of Brexit talks which begin tomorrow, exposes the Conservative’s obsession with deregulation and failed neoliberal proposals...
Recent Studies Today Show Brexit Fears are Holding Back UK Investments
Fears of Britain's exit from the EU is introducing a worrying investment setback as companies and investors keep stalling on investment plans so as not to be caught up in the uncertainty that continues to loom over the economy since the referendum, studies have revealed. Firms, manufacturers, and both domestic and international investors are either pulling back or pressing the pause button on already laid out investment plans. Some businesses are holding back on planning at all until the uncertainties...
One in five Brits trapped in working poverty
A damning study has today revealed one in five Brits are now trapped in working poverty as inflation continues to outpace wage growth. Ahead of Living Wage week (6-12 November), KPMG’s annual Living Wage report reveals 21 per cent of people in the UK are still earning below the real Living Wage, meaning that an estimated 5.5 million employees are struggling to get out of in-work poverty. Around 59 percent of those earning below the real Living Wage indicated a sharp...
These are the jawdropping stats about the 10 years since last interest rate rise
The Bank of England has raised interest rates today for the first time in more than ten years. The official bank rate has been lifted from 0.25 per cent to 0.5 per cent, the first increase since July 2007. Almost four million households face higher mortgage interest payments after the rise, raising concerns as families struggle to battle rising inflation and stagnant wages. Of the 8.1 million households with a mortgage, 3.7 million, or 46 per cent, are on either...