The UK Economy

Finance ministers and central bank governors of the G20 member states pledged to take necessary actions to prevent the practice of tax base erosion and profit sharing, following the conclusion of the G20 summit in Moscow. The move came following the discovery in recent months that some multinational corporations had paid little or less taxes […]

UK Deputy Prime Minister calls for greater regional growth and for government to stop being “bewitched” by the City. Nick Clegg has said the UK economy needs to stop propping “up a nation of 100,000 square miles on the profits of just a single square mile”. Speaking at the Mansion House, Mr Clegg said the […]

British Pound Sterling fell to its lowest in nearly seven months against the US Dollar after Martin Weale, a member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England said in a speech engagement last Saturday, 16 February, that the “most natural means” to reduce the UK’s trading deficit is for the currency to […]

Both Germany and France saw their economies contract at the end of 2012 Newly released figures show that Germany, the Eurozone’s largest economy, contracted by 0.6% during Q4 of 2012, whilst France’s saw a 0.3% contraction during the same period. Germany and France’s GDP figures reflect wider problems within the Eurozone and Europe, with Spain, […]

The Confederation of British Industry expects the UK economy to grow by 0.3% in Q1 Predicting 0.3% growth in the first quarter of 2013 the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has today said whilst growth would be relatively flat it “might be edging upwards”. Speaking to the BBC about the predicted growth the CBI’s director-general […]

Outgoing Bank of England Governor responds positively to quarterly inflation report. The Governor of the Bank of England, Sir Mervyn King, has said the UK economy is set for recovery. Whilst tempering his remarks by saying the “road ahead” will not be smooth, Sir Mervyn said that “there is cause for optimism”. Following measures in […]

This is the annual letter sent out by my friend Richard Poulden. This year – as every year – we wil hold a 10 minute debate at the UKInvestor Show – I am not sure of the subject matter yet but it is always sparky. I am not sure that I agree 100% on China […]

Security provider faces total losses of over £88m following compensation deal. The London 2012 security contractor, G4S, has announced that it is reached a deal with Olympic organisers Locog after it failed to supply enough guards to fulfil its contract. G4S will now face £70m worth of losses, £20m more than had been expected. Commenting […]

Bank axes 3,700 following the announcement of fall in pre-tax profits. UK banking giant Barclays has announced it is axing 3,700 jobs following the announcement its pre-tax profits fell to £246m in 2012. The job losses were announced as part of a strategic review published the bank, which had achieved pre-tax profits of £5.9bn in […]

January’s consumer inflation rate remains stable. The UK’s Consumer price inflation, CPI, remained unchanged at 2.7% in January 2013. The fourth month in a row that the inflation rate remained stable, the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that January saw alcohol and tobacco costs rising but were mitigated by falling clothing and footwear […]