Comment

Why the Daily Mail is #1

One of the things that frustrates me the most is uninformed debate. I don’t mind this in the context of pub antics or dinner party discussions; I can cope with my mother-in-law’s sometimes particular take on the world.

William Hague’s comments are an insult to British business

Foreign Secretary, William Hague’s recent comments on British businesses have shown how deeply out of touch this government is with the rest of the country.

A view from America

Being an economist has the occasional perk. One of them is travel – this week, I am spending most of my time in the US, primarily in New York. Every time I come to this city I discover something new about it

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Iain Duncan Smith disability benefits cuts are immoral

Iain Duncan Smith has decided to end Disability Living Allowance in favour of the new Personal Independence Payment to cut 500,000 disabled claimants.

Occupy London Stock Exchange LSX is back

Occupy London Stock Exchange LSX is back with a vengeance as thousands return to St Paul’s Cathedral before marching onto the financial district.

What happens when voters reject austerity?

With Hollande having won the French Presidential election, and fringe parties in Greece picking up a sizeable chunk of votes in the Hellenic poll, financial markets’ knee-jerk reaction was not encouraging yesterday.

Crunch time looms for Germany

With the Spanish economy returning to recession over the past six months, the fall of the Dutch Government due to a row over austerity, and the upcoming Greek and French elections, these are turbulent times for European policymakers.

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Does the double-dip tell us anything new?

The UK is officially back in recession. After a modest fall at the end of 2011, GDP contracted by 0.2% in the first three months of this year.

Can new local currencies solve the crisis?

The financial crisis that started in 2007 will leave a lasting impact on the global economy. Government debt levels throughout the developed world will be higher than they would otherwise have been, as authorities stepped in to shore up failing economies.

Shareholders need to flex their muscles more

The past week has seen something unusual happen. After the usual outrage and media fury over bankers’ bonuses, there has finally been a reaction.

Fairness versus opportunity

One of the big claims that the coalition made when they announced the spending cuts in 2010 was that we were all in this together. Since then, as public sector jobs have been lost and economic growth has stumbled, there have been many individual claims and counterclaims about the unfairness of the cuts,

Rebalancing is still a long way off

Back when the UK emerged from recession in 2009, and again when the new Government was formed in 2010, politicians pinned their hopes for a robust recovery on the ‘rebalancing’ of the UK economy.