Equity: new research just published shows that inequality has increased in Britain over the past 40 years.Wednesday, 27 January 2010
Rich-Poor divide greater than 40 years ago
Equity: new research just published shows that inequality has increased in Britain over the past 40 years.
UK economy finally exits recession
The long overdue official return to growth has arrived, although it is extremely fragile at 0.1% for the last quarter, according to the ONS.Monday, 25 January 2010
Speech by Mervyn King 19th January
Advanced Higher candidates are advised to read the latest speech by Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England.The recession may well be over but what does this really mean?
GDP figures are due out this week. Check out this useful Q&A piece from the Guardian on what it really means to return to growth.
read more...
read more...
Sunday, 24 January 2010
Latest views on inflation and unemployment
In short:
- Inflation has spiked, but it is thought the rise is temporary.
- Unemployment has fallen, but the figures don't tell the full story - it appears that many people are still "underemployed" (taking part time jobs).
- The consumer spending squeeze looks pretty entrenched.
- We're expecting the ONS to announce a return to growth later this week.
Monday, 18 January 2010
Unemployment in Britain - which cities have been worst hit?
This graphic shows towns and cities with the highest and lowest changes in Claimant Count Unemployment.
view map...
view map...
Obama's Levy on Bankers' Bonuses
Robert Peston has an interesting article in his blog about the new tax announced in the US to help American taxpayers re-coup some of the cost of the financial crisis from those judged to be responsible. His post has generated over 200 responses.UK Economy must re-structure to return to sustainable growth
The Ernst & Young Item Club (and economic forecasting group) have predicted that wholesale changes in the composition of UK GDP are necessary, if the UK is to return to strong levels of growth. In particular, UK firms will need to shift their focus away from debt-led consumer spending and towards a more global market.
Thursday, 7 January 2010
Winners and Losers on the UK High Street
Check out this fun interactive resource from the Guardian which shows the performance of British high street businesses over the Christmas period.Youth Shopping Offers Retailers a Christmas Boost
Despite fears that youth unemployment might dampen performance of youth fashion retailers, profits over the Christmas period have been strong.
Tuesday, 5 January 2010
The future of Economics.
The impact of this recession on individuals, firms and governments has been well documented in this blog. But what about the impact on Economics as a profession?read more...
Animated film - 2009 in review
The Guardian website has an excellent set of video cartoons. How many of these stories did you follow in 2009?
view film...
view film...
Rocky road to recovery for 5 countries that crashed and burned in 2009
Ireland, Iceland, Greece, Spain and Dubai are all countries that crashed hard last year. This article from the Guardian examines the challenges ahead and assigns each country a panic factor!read more...
Monetary Policy Decisions for the New Year
This is a useful article from the Times which talks through the factors the MPC will have to consider prior to announcing this month's decision on interest rates. The author predicts that the committee will vote to leave the rate unchanged for now.read more...
Positive figures hint that we may be out of recession
Positive statistics in manufacturing and mortgage approvals indicate that we may be heading out of recession. However, we have seen this false dawn before and some Economists remain concerned that a double dip recession is still possible.read more...
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