Monthly Archives: March 2013

The central bankers’ Catch-22

Posted on March 27, 2013 by

Governments and central banks have manoeuvred themselves into a financial mess that shows no sign of getting better. Debt to GDP ratios continue to climb, with many industrialised nations over 100% (and Japan has gone well over 200%). It normally takes a … Continue reading →

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Banks to do the impossible

Posted on March 27, 2013 by

The “advice” being given to major UK banks by the government and the Bank of England is  akin to telling someone to walk in two directions at once. On the one hand, banks are being encouraged to lend money, to … Continue reading →

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Quote of the day

Posted on March 23, 2013 by

In other news, it would appear that the “Conservative” party believes that the housing market in the U.K. is insufficiently distorted and in danger of reverting to market principles. To prevent that, the new budget contains provisions to assure that … Continue reading →

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Apples and oranges

Posted on March 20, 2013 by

The Austrian school of economics place most of the blame on the boom and bust seemingly inherent in most countries on changes in the money supply – usually brought about by central banks, although there are other means. Here I … Continue reading →

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The long run

Posted on March 6, 2013 by

Labour recently commissioned a report into ‘short termism’ in the UK which aims to take a look at the reasons for short term behaviour by businesses and recommend how this can be changed. It makes several recommendations: taper capital gains tax; reduce reporting; … Continue reading →

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A better measure of inflation?

Posted on March 4, 2013 by

Via SaveOurSavers, there’s a new inflation measure published by Tullett Prebon, which claims to more accurately show the impact of inflation in the UK than the official CPI. CPI running at an annual rate of 2-3% doesn’t sound too bad, but … Continue reading →

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