Economy
An exercise in futility
It’s possible that I owe Joe Biden some sort of an apology, however mealy-mouthed it might be. Last week I…
Why Centrica is right to restore its dividend
‘What’s worse, they’re paying the profits to shareholders,’ said a grey-haired woman ahead of me in the Co-op queue. ‘Bloody…
The real difference between Sunak and Truss’s tax policies
The Tory leadership race is becoming a test of patience. Today Rishi Sunak has laid out his plan to slash…
I’m torn on Truss
I’ve been lucky enough in my working life so far to hold a string of jobs that have allowed me…
‘You can’t have your cake and eat it’
As the leadership contest hots up, Charles Moore and Rishi Sunak sit down for a chat
Is the US in recession?
There’s an almighty debate ongoing in the US about what exactly a ‘recession’ is. Regardless of semantics, the numbers are…
The fight for the future
To govern is to choose. So leadership contests for a party in government tend to come down to a key…
The next black swan? Keep your eye on China’s banks
‘Black swan’ theory, developed by the writer Nassim Nicholas Taleb, refers to unexpected events that have extreme consequences but are…
All’s calm on my morning train — but it won’t be by autumn
Here I go again, in my occasional role as your intrepid transport correspondent. Last week I reported on airport chaos,…
Central bank rate hikes are pathetic
Check out these hyperventilating headlines from last week: ‘What the Fed’s largest interest rate hike in decades means for you’…
Of course airlines should have started rehiring months ago — but they didn’t
I sincerely hope you’re not reading this on a holiday flight that’s sitting on the tarmac with no indication as…
A moving experience from Paddington to Liverpool Street
It’s 8.16 on Tuesday morning and I’m actually writing this on a moving Elizabeth line train. Moving in the sense…
My revised economic forecast: this sucker could go down
Anecdotes and statistics should never be confused, but let’s do just that to build a composite picture of today’s UK…
Barometer
Off duty How many non-doms are there in the UK? – In the year ending 2020, 75,700 people filled in…
Could we be heading for a second Covid recession?
The political story for the moment is the cost of living crisis. But by the end of the year could…
Why Y-fronts show that recession risks are rising
Should you happen to spot me these days lurking outside a Calvin Klein boutique, notebook in hand, I assure you…
Is this the end of borrow and spend?
Since the spring statement last week, Rishi Sunak has been dealing with complaints from all sides: the right have been…
The moral of P&O: too many strategic assets in foreign hands
P & O once stood for ‘Peninsular and Oriental’, with pleasant connotations of sailings to Cadiz and Constantinople – but…
Letters
Don’t blame the banks? Sir: Kate Andrews struggles to disentangle the causes of the developing cost-of-living crisis (‘Cold truth’, 19…
High life
Was it Socrates who said that chaos was the natural state of mankind, and tyranny the usual remedy? Actually it…
Bad news, Governor: the wage-rise spiral is already raging
I’ve had the opportunity recently to take part in wage-rise discussions for several small entities in which I’m involved. The…
Rishi has a horrible task ahead
Whether Rishi Sunak is prime minister or still chancellor this spring, fate is handing him a poisoned chalice. Looking back,…
The blame games are about to begin
‘The main job of a government is to ensure that the economics don’t go wrong.’ So argued an economist friend…
No man’s land
Despite the political misery for Boris Johnson as he ends the year, he has a big hope: that salaries will…
The economic impact of the latest Covid restrictions
We don’t yet know whether the Omicron variant will drastically accelerate the spread of coronavirus, or whether it will circumvent…
