Category
In the News
Is another debt crisis looming for emerging countries?
Are we reaching a critical juncture for developing economies - and the brink of another debt crisis?
Chancellor Kwarteng is sacked
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kwasi Kwarteng has been sacked after serving just 38 days in the job. Jeremy Hunt will take his place.
Economics Weekly Quiz | 14 October 2022
Here's our weekly economics news quiz.
UK government may launch fuel price comparison website
If you provide better information, then markets operate more efficiently. This is what economic theory would suggest, and it seems that the operation of the petrol market in Northern Ireland has...
Will the UK government cap renewable industry revenues?
A lovely applied example Here of the complexities of policymaking. In tackling the energy crisis, the government is looking to cap the price that renewable energy sources are able to charge for...
Can China’s electric car boom last?
This article looks at the booming e-vehicle market in China and makes the point that China is expected to register 6 million electric cars in 2022, revised upwards from 5.5 million, representing a...
Price Mechanism in Action - Californian Drought Raises Grocery Prices
A short video here from Reuters which offers a neat applied example of supply and demand in action. I might use it when discussing price volatility.
Dynamic Pricing: Ticketmaster pricing system criticised
A BBC news article on dynamic pricing should be hard for Economics students to ignore! In adopting a dynamic pricing model what are Ticketmaster trying to achieve, and to what extent is this...
Amazon to invest $1 billion in electric vehicles and charging hubs
Investment decisions by leading businesses may well have a notable impact on the speed with which the UK transitions to low-carbon transport. This news from Amazon provides a terrific example of a...
Recession Watch: More UK Companies Going Bust
There is now a 13 year high in UK business insolvencies - taking us back to 2009 and the aftermath of the global financial crisis. This is seen as a leading indicator pointing to slowing growth and...
The distributional implications of poverty can, in part be defined by ethnicity, with newly published research by the Runnymeade Trust suggesting that minority ethnic groups are over-represented...
Economics Weekly Quiz | 07 October 2022
Here's our weekly economics news quiz. What extraordinary times in which we live!
A classic example of a trade-off - between cutting carbon emissions and economic growth, with the IMF warning that getting to net zero will impact growth, but that the cost of this will be...
Cost pressures have forced Greggs to raise the price of their iconic sausage roll for the 2nd time in less than a year. It has jumped from £1.00 to £1.05 and now another 10 pence to £1.15 - putting...
Profit Margins - Are supermarkets taking advantage of drivers?
Petrol prices are often faster to rise when market conditions change than they are to drop when cost pressures are easing. Are the supermarkets using this moment to increase their profit margins on...
Markets in action - marvel as the invisible hand has prompted farmers in Western Kenya have switched from maize to avocado production, in response to rising levels of demand for the fruit - yes,...
Credit Squeeze - Mortgage Rates Rise as Lenders Return
Mortgage interest rates have gone up - with the average two-year fixed rate mortgage close to 6%, as mortgage lenders have significantly increased interest rates.
UK Economy - Real Incomes Falling - Recession Risk Grows
Real disposable incomes in the UK have now fallen for four successive quarters and as a result, the risk of a consumer-led recession is rising.
Horizontal Integration - Vodafone and Three in Merger Talks
It seems as though there might be big merger activity afoot, with Vodafone and Three looking like merging - and in doing so, going from the 3rd and 4th largest UK mobile networks to the largest.
UK Economy - Will Household Saving Collapse?
In tough economic times, people often aim to save more when there is uncertainty and confidence is low. But the surging cost of living and rising mortgage bills threatens to cause a significant...