Quantitative easing is a process where a Central Bank creates money electronically. It uses this new money to purchase assets and bonds (mostly government bonds) from commercial banks and financial institutions. For more see: Quantitative easing explained Quantitative Easing has helped many holders of government bonds who have benefited from selling bonds to the Central …
In the lead up to the Euro debt crisis, there was a marked divergence in competitiveness within the Eurozone. In fact, some economists suggested that the currency imbalances were the root cause of the Eurozone fiscal crisis. (VOX article) However, recent evidence suggests some restoration of competitiveness within the Eurozone. We can examine competitiveness in …
Readers Question: Can you tell what Portugal has done to reduce the Current Account GDP deficit so steeply? The reduction in the Portuguese deficit is quite striking. In researching the answer to this question, I came up with a different post – The Portuguese Economic crisis From what I can gather, essentially, the rapid reduction …
By any standards, 2012 has been a dismal year for the UK economy. Despite a temporary Olympic bounce, GDP remains below 2008 levels, and the Bank of England is as pessimistic as it’s ever been. Unemployment might be lower than other European economies, but with 1 million underemployed – official statistics perhaps mask the wasted …
Diagrams showing different types of elasticity – inelastic demand, elastic demand, inelastic supply, elastic supply. The effect of tax Inelastic Demand Elastic demand Elastic Supply Inelastic Supply Effect of elasticity on impact of subsidy Effect of Tax on Elastic Demand Effect of Tax on Inelastic Demand
In the UK, the basic rate of income tax is 20%. It is the rate than most taxpayers will pay. It is important to note that this is a marginal tax rate and so is only paid on income above the tax threshold. In the UK, the tax threshold is £10,600 for 2013/14 Therefore, if …
Definition: The announcement effect refers to the fact that behaviour can be changed merely by announcing a future policy change. For example, if the government say that petrol tax will increase in 6 months time, people may start spending less money now; they may also look for alternatives to the car. Announcement effects will be …
A list of building societies in the UK that gave up building society status (non-profit making, owned by members) and become profit making PLCs. This process is known as demutualisation. List of former building societies and date of demutualisation. Abbey National 1989 – Converted to PLC now known as “Santander”, it is part of Spanish …