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In the News
Are higher wages to blame for fast rising prices?
Phillip Inman writes in the Observer about the notion being put about by the Chancellor and the Bank of England, arguing that wage settlements are in danger of sustaining inflation. But how true is...
Exporting waste - Thailand Is Tired of Recycling Your Trash
If you believe in free trade you might think that it seems reasonable to have developed economies exporting their waste to developing economies, notably in South East Asia.
Monetary Policy - UK base interest rates climb to 3.5%
Borrowing costs have risen again, by the forecast 0.5%, to 3.5% - the highest level for 14 years (i.e. since the 2008 global financial crisis). Inflation is still 10.7%, still nearly 9% above the...
Did you know that Scotland has a different income tax system to the rest of the UK? You do now, if only because Deputy First Minister, John Swinney, announced tax changes in his Budget today. The...
Rising inflation hits living standards for India's middle class
Proof here that inflation is not just a developed world phenomenon: it's a global issue, not least in South Asia, not least in Sri Lanka as a result of the financial crisis, and here in India,...
New Zealand legislates to ban cigarettes for future generations
This is a really interesting story about New Zealand's latest move to eradicate smoking with the government passing legislation to ban smoking by gradually raising the minimum age at which you can...
Has UK inflation peaked?
Are we close to peak inflation in the UK and an easing of the pain of fast-rising prices? UK consumer price inflation eased to an annual rate of 10.7% in November, down from 11.1% in October and...
Is the UK heading for a 1970s-style Winter of Discontent?
Strike action is on the rise but how close are we to the industrial strife commonplace during the 1970s?
Are we reaching a turning point for inflation?
The latest data shows that US inflation is falling - with the rate for November dropping to 7.1%, from 7.7% in October. This is clearly good news - it suggests that the worst effects of the...
Economics Weekly Quiz | 09 December 2022
Here's our weekly economics news quiz.
It is a decision sure to ignite criticism from within and outside the UK. The government has given the green light for a £165m project that is forecast to create about 500 new jobs in Cumbria (a...
Is the UK sleep-walking into a food supply crisis?
Here comes another supply-side shock - with the National Farmers Union reporting that higher feed, fertiliser and fuel costs are going to impact on the supply of energy intensive crops like...
Hearing Aids Merger Under CMA Investigation
As someone who has experienced hearing loss during covid, this economics news is personal. The Competition and Markets Authority are poised to deepen an investigation into the proposed merger...
Can Britain prevent winter power cuts?
There's a cold snap on the way, and it's going to test the supply-side capacity of the UK electricity generation industry. Or are we likely to experience power cuts this winter?
Market and Regulatory Failure - Are Big Banks Short-Changing Customers?
It seems that UK mortgage lenders were quick to hike two-year fixed rate mortgage rates in the aftermath of the mini-Budget, but that since then, as money market swap rates have fallen back,...
OFGEM has reviewed the way in which the energy network is being run and have announced that those companies responsible for managing local networks, including Scottish and Southern Electricity...
Economic Development - South Africa Turns to Solar to stop Power Cuts
This article is remarkable if only for the statistics relating to the take up of solar power in South Africa. For a country with 8 to 10 hours of sunshine per day to only generate 0.9% of its...
Energy Update: News Stories on the Cost of Living Crisis
Lots happening in the UK energy sector at the moment. Here is a quick potted summary.
Training Places - Apprentices quitting over poor quality of schemes
The poor standard of vocational training in the UK has been a perennial curse, damaging the economy's supply-side perforrnance, and it seems that even the latest round of reforms has done little to...
Poverty and Inequality - Cost of Living Crisis hitting most deprived areas hardest
The distributional effects of inflation have never been evenly spread, and this ONS survey suggests that people in the most deprived areas are spending markedly less on food and essentials than the...