The financial crisis of 2008 has had wide-ranging and enduring impacts on economies around the world, and the UK is no exception. But one of the biggest legacies of all which it leaves today is that of record-low interest rates, which the Bank of England plunged to new depths shortly after the EU referendum last […]
Tag: The UK Economy
Food Poverty Hits 5million UK Households
A report from the Centre for Economics and Business Research has claimed that around 4.7 million homes in the UK are now living in food poverty. Food poverty is defined in the reports as spending 10% or more of household income on food. Whilst the 10% mark may not sound like a lot, this is […]
Bank of England Talks of Negative Interest Rates
The Bank of England has shown that it is considering something that, previously, would have been thought utterly ludicrous, as the deputy governor for financial stability, Paul Tucker, suggested that the Bank might consider setting the base interest rate in the negatives. The reasoning behind it is that, with a negative interest rate, lenders would […]
Further Squeeze on Household Budgets Thanks to Petrol
More and more households are finding that their budgets are being squeezed even more thanks to a recent rise in petrol prices. Despite the chancellor saying that petrol duty wouldn’t increase in order to protect motorists, he can’t control the price of oil, which has gone up and brought petrol prices with it. Inflation and […]
UK Economy Shrinks by 0.3% in Last Three Months of 2012
The Office for National Statistics has revealed the figures for the UK’s GDP in the last three months of 2012 and delivered the news that the economy shrank by 0.3% from the beginning of October to the end of December 2012. This is much larger than the 0.1% contraction which had been predicted by most […]
Borrowing Costs Could Increase if UK loses Credit Rating
Leading economists have warned that it is unlikely that Britain will retain its AAA credit rating with all three major credit rating agencies through 2013, given the economic climate and the way the UK’s finances are going. This will be a particularly embarrassing development for George Osborne, who has repeatedly claimed that his actions have […]
Think Tanks Claim Living Wage could Reduce Government Benefits Bill
Two respected think tanks, the Resolution Foundation and IPPR, have come out claiming that by introducing the living wage to council workers or those employed by government bodies through England and Wales, the UK benefits bill could be cut by as much as £2billion a year without significantly affecting the wages that the government has […]
Sir James Crosby apologises for his role in causing the financial crisis
The former chief executive of HBOS, Sir James Crosby, has apologised in front of the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards for his role at the bank in the lead up to the financial crisis. Telling MPs that the lending which took place at the bank was “incompetent”, he also said he didn’t think he would […]
George Osborne Performs Poorly In Front of Banking Standards Commission
Chancellor George Osborne turned up to answer the questions of the Parliamentary Commission yesterday and gave a very poor performance, allowing the members of the commission to repeatedly get one over on him and demonstrating a failure to understand the purpose of the committee in the first place. At the very beginning of his appearance, […]
Moody’s Warns it may Downgrade UK Credit Rating
The credit ratings agency Moody’s has warned that the UK faces having its credit rating downgraded if the government’s failure to grow the economy continues. In a statement, the agency said that the UK government may not be as good at repaying its loans in future as their ability to raise capital is “being hampered […]