It’s not a good time to be a member of the Monetary Policy Committee. Inflation far exceeding forecasts and the Bank was forced into something of a u-turn belatedly increasing interest rates in a shock-and-awe tactic designed to regain credibility. Some critics argue the recent interest rate rises are like using a sledgehammer to crack …
I wrote a while back that I was a rather unenthusiastic supporter of remaining in Europe, and perhaps it wasn’t that important. In recent weeks, I have become more committed to staying in Europe, and feeling leaving the EU would be a regressive step. Bigger perspective The EU was formed out of the Second World …
Readers Question: As the FED is talking about tapering and at the same time keeping interest rate low. How can they both go together? Tapering will raise yield as bond prices go down in absence of any freak buying. And interest rate will chase yield this causes interest rate to climb up. Fed Tapering means …
Readers Question: In Risks and benefits of Quantitative easing one point the programme mentioned was: The scale of quantitative easing could make it impossible to sell bonds back to market and this will damage the UK’s ability to borrow in the future. If the UK’s ability to borrow is constrained, this will lead to higher …
Recently, the Economist published an article (You can fool some of the people…), pointing out several economic commentators were increasingly critical of UK economic policy and the Bank of England’s monetary policy in particular. Is the Bank of England really losing grip of monetary policy? or are they doing the best job in difficult circumstances? …
Readers Question: Can someone please tell me what percent of the UK debt is held by the Bank of England? The Bank of England have purchased £325 bn of asset purchases, which are financed by issuing created reserves. Of these £325bn of assets, the vast majority are government gilts (bonds). The government’s net public sector …
Will the Pension Triple Lock Bankrupt Britain?Watch this video on YouTube In 1909, the UK provided the first state pension to those over 70. At the time, the average life expectancy was just 52. Since then, the average life expectancy has increased to over 81. But, the pension age today is 66. It means the …
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 …