Category
In the News
West Yorkshire nationalises bus services
The renationalisation of bus services continues, with buses in West Yorkshire being brought under public control by the region's mayor. It seems as though, the experiment with privatisation is...
Morrisons makes £1 billion loss!
Morrisons plunged to a £1billion loss last year after a surge in debt interest payments linked to its private equity takeover. The business has been hit by a revenue squeeze and spiralling interest...
Manufacturing Coming Home - The Economics of Re-Shoring
This is a really good article from the BBC about reshoring and the factors that are currently driving it: higher wages in previously low-wage economies, a desire to get things quicker, the risks...
Stamp Prices Soaring - What future for letter deliveries?
A year ago, a first-class stamp cost 95p - from April 2024, it will be a staggering £1.35. Little wonder that letter volumes are falling fast - but this in turn increases the unit costs of...
Sky High Vet Bills - CMA Launches Formal Probe
Big competition policy news! The CMA is launching a formal investigation after an initial review of the UK vets market raised multiple concerns. There are sixteen million pet owners in the UK and...
The annual revision of the consumer bundle used to calculate inflation has come around and this BBC article provides a handy primer as to what's in and what's out. Air fryers and vinyl records in;...
Economics Weekly Quiz | 08 March 2024
Here's our weekly economics news quiz covering stories from the UK and global economic events of the passed 7 days. This week is a 'Budget Special'!
The EU Competition authorities have put the boot in as far as Apple is concerned with a massive 1.8 billion euro fine for Apple who have been found guilty of using their AppStore in an...
Economics Weekly Quiz | 01 March 2024
Here's our weekly economics news quiz covering stories from the UK and global economic events of the passed 7 days.
Supermarkets Battle for Staff
When we teach oligopolies we focus rather more on price stickiness in product markets, having made a number of assumptions about the nature of the market, notably the interdependence of firms in...
Will the UK government introduce a vape tax?
The UK government is set to introduce a new tax on vapes in a bid to curb growing use by teenagers. This follows taxes introduced in Germany and Italy. Will a tax on imported vapes work? What are...
Economic mess deepens in Nigeria
This article looks at the current state of the Nigerian economy - with inflation running at 30%, the naira having depreciated by two-thirds, with the pegging of the naira to the dollar having been...
CMA to investigate anti-competitive behaviour among leading house builders
Oh dear! It seems as though the housing market is in the crosshairs of the competition authorities, after a year-long investigation. It also appears that the outcome of this is, in some senses,...
Economics Weekly Quiz | 23 February 2024
Here's our weekly economics news quiz covering stories from the UK and global economic events of the passed 7 days.
Government Intervention - Price Cap for Online Slot Machines to be cut
There's going to be tougher regulation of online slot machines, in line with fixed odds betting terminals (FOBT), so that under-25s will be limited to a £2 stake, and older gamblers will be allowed...
NVIDIA revenues soar - has AI reached a tipping point?
AI has hit the tipping point according to the Boss of NVIDIA which dominates the market for AI chips. Profits are up 769% on the year before. The company has reported revenue of over $21 billion in...
CMA to investigate possible price collusion in baby formula milk industry
Another competition policy story with the Competition and Markets authority going to investigate baby formula manufacturers, after a preliminary report saw the price of baby formula had increased...
Has this vertical farm cracked the code for sustainable farming?
Vertical farming appears to becoming a feature of the agricultural landscape, with this BBC piece looking at a facility in Gloucestershire that is growing salad crops three times faster under...
Argentinian inflation hits more than 250% - will shock therapy work?
Ione Wells reports for the BBC from Argentina where inflation has soared to 250%. Will President Milei's shock therapy policies work? Do they risk causing even deeper short-term pain? This is a...
Economics Weekly Quiz | 16 February 2024
Here's our weekly economics news quiz covering stories from the UK and global economic events of the passed 7 days.