Economics

  By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor A senior academic has shown his approval of the CMA’s decision to investigate High Street banks over a lack of competition. The big four High Street banks, which provide 77 per cent of current accounts and 85 per cent of business lending, may ultimately be forced to divest businesses and allow new competitors. Dr Steve McCabe, economist, lecturer and active researcher from Birmingham City University’s Business School, said: “Learning that the Competition and Markets...

By Stephen Angus Peter Junor It is well-known that China has invested heavily in Africa for some years now and it is no coincidence that Africa is beginning to record increasing levels of growth. The World Bank estimated 2013 growth at 4.7 per cent with growth this year set to be around 5.2 per cent, supported by strong foreign investment primarily from China. The recently announced New Development Bank (NDB), founded by BRICS will further increase the influence of China on...

By Valentina Magri Money makes Brits happy, but what helps make Brits money? Schooling plays a pivotal role in earning a good income later in life. Better educated people enjoy better jobs and are more likely to take up managerial posts, but there are some schools that are more suited to helping you achieve this goal. A new report released by Sutton Trust, based on data analysis by the Social Market Foundation (SMF), has identified an imbalance in the way...

By Render Positive London was never a particularly cheap place to live – in fact, Rightmove’s figures suggest that the average asking price of a property in London has risen by £80,000 since the start of 2014. As a result, prices are now at an all-time high, and only look set to rise in future. However, as is to be expected, some boroughs are significantly more expensive than others, with some enjoying a meteoric rise in prices following different developments,...

By Marcus Hunt Peer-to-peer lending is a highly innovative means of businesses acquiring capital; crowdsourcing loans from dozens of small investors is a way for both parties to secure better interest rates by cutting out the cumbersome middle-men at the banks. From humble beginnings, sites like Zopa, Ratesetter and Funding Circle have now facilitated loans of over £1 billion to small and medium-sized British businesses. However, I think that there is good reason to believe that over the medium-term the...

  By Valentina Magri “Money doesn’t make you happy” is the typical saying that you state when you want to raise the spirit of people dissatisfied with their personal finances. But if you live in the UK, you should forget it, cash is king. Money and happiness Basically, there are two main views over the link between money and happiness. According to Easterlin, happiness comes from money until a saturation point (Easterlin paradox). Once you overcome this boundary, the correlation...

By Rachel Wilson Political Reporter The current cuts to the public sector look set to impact on women the hardest. Women make up the majority of public sector workers and cuts to the sector has pushed women’s unemployment up over the past few years. Women make up 65% of the public sector workforce in the UK and the latest figures from the Office for Budget Responsibility estimate that 929,000 jobs will be lost in the public sector by 2018. Over...

By Valentina Magri The decision of the European Council to propose Jean-Claude Juncker as the next President of the European Commission was “one step closer to quitting Europe” for Britain. The move made David Cameron feel very angry. Indeed, the PM has promised a referendum in 2017 over EU membership if the Conservative party win the 2015 general election. Opinion polls show that Brits are split on the issue. But what would be the economic consequences of Brexit? The five economic consequences...

By Simon Bartram Setting interest rates is no easy task. It would be wishful thinking to imagine that every economic effect of every economic action can be perfectly predicted. We're dealing with a multitude of different people with different circumstances, personalities and ambitions – evidently not a subject matter that can be easily tested under a microscope and certainly not a topic about which claims can be made with a scientist's precision. Not to mention that we're dealing with a...