Bank of England Inflation Resources

Inflation

Check out these useful resources on the BoE site - a chart of inflation since 1793, a map showing dramatic inflation stories across history and some useful films explaining inflation and the bank's role.

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China slashes interest rates

Monetary Policy

China is nowhere close to recession (negative growth) but is experiencing a slowdown. Growth forecasts have been cut from 9.2% to 7.5%, demand pull inflation has eased off and the authorities are using monetary policy to help inject more money into the system again.

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Europe anounces €200bm stimulus package

They're all at it! Fiscal stimulus is the trend of the day... but what about Europe's strict fiscal rules as outlined in the Stability Pact. Will they ditch them as easily as Labour ditched Brown's golden rules?

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VAT falls by 2.5% but is it enough?

Fiscal policy

The government are attempting a fiscal stimulus but many economists believe that changing VAT from 17.5% to 15% will have little impact.
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Pre-budget report

Fiscal Policy

Today, the Chancellor unveiled his plans for the UK economy in his pre-budget report.
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Economist this week

Try the articles on UK unemployment (p36), Eurozone unemployment (p46), the fall of the Russian rouble (p50) and fiscal stimulus in the US (p54).
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Drowning in red ink

Government Borrowing
Excellent but gloomy pdf graphic on the state of the government's finances...
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CPI falls to 4.5%

Inflation

As expected, inflation has dropped from the high levels seen last month.

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Eurozone swings to trade deficit

International Trade and Payments

The Eurozone is now experiencing a trade deficit, meaning that imports exceed exports.

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BBC Video: Borrowing to boost our circular flow...

National Income / Fiscal Policy
Good news clip on the Government's plans to boost National Income through increasing G and reducing T (all financed by more borrowing)! But will this just undermine the pound??

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The Economist this week

126 pages is far too much to deal with in a single week! Concentrate on the articles on fiscal stimulus in China (P14/87), UK interest rates (p38) and the threat of deflation (p93). Copies in the library.

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Japan battles with recession and deflation

National Income / Inflation

Japan's economy is very different to the UK's, being mainly driven by manufactured exports. They are being hit hard by the credit crunch as orders from overseas dry up...

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CBI revises recession forecast

Unemployment

The Confederation of British Industry has revised its predictions for growth and unemployment and the outlook is gloomy...

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Recession, Unemployment and the fall of the Pound

As usual, lots of Economics across the front pages this week. Most notably:

Inflation / National Income
On Wednesday, the Bank of England released their latest projections for inflation and economic growth.
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Business Cycles
The Eurozone is in its first ever recession...
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Unemployment
Extensive job cuts across several sectors announced this week. Perhaps closest to home - RBS are cutting 3,000 of its workforce...
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Exchange Rates
Sterling continues to fall against the $ and the €.
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Inflation soars but for how long?

Inflation

Inflation hit 5.2% this month but Mervyn King and the MPC are pretty confident that it won't stay high for long. There is very little demand-pull evident and the cost-push pressures from oil and food prices seem to be abating.

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Government Borrowing Soars

Fiscal Policy
The government are trying a fiscal stimulus to boost the circular flow of income. However, this can only mean more borrowing (on top of the huge banking bailout) and it looks like the golden rules set by Gordon Brown have already been broken.
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About this blog

This blog will be used to highlight relevant Economics news stories on a week-by-week basis. It is intended to help students of Intermediate 2, Higher and Advanced Higher Economics stay up to date with events that relate directly to their SQA course of study.

Note: These are nowhere remotely close to all the relevant stories. The blog will carry only a small selection. It is just a tool to break the bulk of media that you need to engage with.