Tag Archives: UK

Europe Update….dissappointed!

By Admin | Published: December 7, 2011

Here’s the latest string of newsflow/rumors leading up to the European Union leaders summit.

  1. Germany appears to be downplaying expectations for the summit as one politician said he’s more pessimistic than last week on an overall summit deal and that not all EU are aware of the situation’s gravity.
  2. ECB said they will lend tomorrow a massive $50.7bln 84 day US dollar funds to 34 banks. November auction had only $0.395bln and underscores $/year-end demand is acute.
  3. Germany had better than expected October industrial production (+0.8 vse +0.3) and their 5yr note auction was oversubscribed (unlike the “failed” auction last

    4. … …READ MORE

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UK cuts corporate taxes

By Admin | Published: March 23, 2011

Question of the day: In the midst of an austerity budget, why does the UK have a corporate tax cut?

The Osborne budget has tax cuts for corporates because it’s pro-growth and the closest to a “free lunch” available to create jobs in a country cutting back on government jobs.

Back in June, Mr. Osborne pledged to cut corporate taxes by 1 percentage point annually for the next four years. The first cut was to begin in April and will reduce the rate to 27% at a static cost of GBP 400 million. Osborne announced he’s going to cut the … …READ MORE

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3things You Need to Know Today

By Admin | Published: January 18, 2011

1. China’s President Hu Jintao visits the United States. This is an official state visit and there will be an official state dinner as President Hu comes to Washington D.C. and then travels to Chicago. Yesterday, he answered submitted written questions from both the WSJ and WaPo. WSJ question 4: What do you think will be the U.S. dollar’s future role in the world? How do you see the issue of making the RMB an international currency? Some think that RMB appreciation may curb China’s inflation, what’s your view on that?

Here are the salient bullets on the currency:
• … …READ MORE

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UK Tea Party

By Admin | Published: October 20, 2010

Today, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said he will cut debt interest costs by more than 5 billion pounds by 2015. The goal is to eliminate the 156 Gbp deficit and bring back fiscal probity to the island nation. The Cameron government is going to cut public sector employment by 490,000 by 2014-15, freeze pay for the remaining employees for 2 years and keep their pension contributions to just 3%. (In the upside down world of fiscal metrics, this 3% increase will be called a reduction from a larger pension increase that was promised.) As Osborne points out … …READ MORE

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UK Plans, US Promises

By Admin | Published: June 8, 2010

In an extension of “The-guy-in-charge-made-a-mess-of-things”, Fitch ratings agency released their first report on the UK since Cameron took over and it wasn’t pretty. Fitch said, “….the scale of the UK’s fiscal challenge is formidable and warrants a strong medium term consolidation strategy – including a faster pace of deficit reduction than set out in the April 2010 Budget….However, the rise in public debt ratios since 2008 is faster than any other AAA rated sovereign and the primary balance adjustment required to stabilize debt is among the highest of advanced countries.”

What’s really great is that the UK wants to be … …READ MORE

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How To Compete Globally….(Even against the Chinese!):

By Admin | Published: June 2, 2010

The key to competing globally consists of using the natural and unnatural advantages your country has to go up against other nations. For some, this can be a low cost labor force or it can be a well trained and educated work force. For some, it can be natural resources or strategic location. However, there are governmental advantages as well. If a country runs a small fiscal deficit or even a fiscal surplus, this nation has a distinct advantage over the competition. First, they can fund themselves relatively cheaply compared to say a Greece. Or better yet, they can entice … …READ MORE

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UK Puts On a Toga

By Admin | Published: May 17, 2010

A new government is formed in Europe and problems ensue. They check the books from the outgoing administration and discover things are worse than they knew. If this sounds familiar, it should as this is what happened in Greece. It is now occurring in the United Kingdom.

The new coalition government in the UK has called for independent auditors to review the UK’s finances to establish the true scale of the official deficit and debts. The Office for Budget Responsibility will start tomorrow on the project. Keep a keen eye out for when they will deliver their report as it … …READ MORE

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Inflation: What If The Unthinkable Happens?

By Admin | Published: January 19, 2010

Currently, there are two places in the world that are experiencing significant increases in prices and more may be coming. India’s Federal Chief Statistician Pronab Sen told a private television channel on Tuesday that the monthly inflation may touch double digits by March according to the Times of India. “It is really possible,” he said. India’s wholesale price index rose to 7.31% in December from a year earlier, driven by higher food prices. Processed food items rose 26.40% in December and non-processed food items increased by 19.17%. The Reserve Bank of India had only projected a 6.5% overall inflation rate … …READ MORE

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