Economy
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…
Running on empty
The government has no ideas and no direction
Is the inflation panic over? Probably not
So, is the post-Covid inflation panic over? That is how it looked last month, when the government’s preferred inflation index,…
Covid pingdemic takes its toll on Britain’s economic bounce-back
The arrival of ‘freedom day’ on 19 July enabled people to return to concerts, festivals, and ditch social distancing, but…
No. 10 is distorting the economy
Job vacancies at a record high, a shortage of 90,000 lorry drivers, farmers complaining about a lack of seasonal workers,…
Britain’s Covid economic bounce back is less impressive than it seems
The UK economy is rebounding at the fastest rate in Europe, and faster even than the United States: that is…
Fuelling the fire
Lebanon is trapped in a nightmare of its own making
Who’s the boss?
In the post-pandemic economy, workers have the upper hand
Will Italy’s Euro win lead to a baby boom?
Could Italy’s triumph on Sunday result not just in a trophy for the azzuri, but a baby boom for a…
What is the purpose of test and trace?
At yesterday’s press conference, Boris Johnson announced that his government was shelving plans for domestic ‘Covid certificates’ (i.e. vaccine passports),…
The economic case for ditching mask mandates
After many months of hardship and sacrifice, freedom is finally within grasp. Boris Johnson has reclaimed his buccaneering, libertarian spirit…
It’s time for Rishi Sunak to stand up to Boris Johnson
Finally the pandemic fog is lifting and the outlines of post-Covid politics are starting to take shape. While the Government…
The QE hangover
Andy Haldane on the true cost of cheap money
Diary
I’ve worked for some media thoroughbreds — including the Financial Times, ITN and CNN — so I know the sense…
Has Covid accelerated the cashless society?
Time is, I fear, running out. Running out, that is, to avoid handing to a small number of multinational corporations…
Clinging to optimism as revival collides with fear
The happiest thing that happens in May is the coming into leaf of my long beech hedge. The shift from…
Top pay restraint may persist over here – but not in the US
‘Consider a temporary cut in executive salaries’ was the Confederation of British Industry’s advice to members at the start of…
Sturgeon can’t hide the economic costs of Scexit
Might the 2020s be the seismic decade in which the post-war consensus, that liberal democracies do not and should not…
The inflation scare is overdone but watch out for the price spike
‘We are seeing very substantial inflation,’ the great investor Warren Buffett told shareholders in his master company Berkshire Hathaway at…
Money to burn
Consumers, not ministers, will lead the recovery
Spring at last – but who’d want to own a giant shopping mall?
Retail footfall will be the first measure of recovery this spring. Everywhere I look, from central London to small-town Yorkshire,…
Why the West should stop investing in China
The Prime Minister has called for an international coalition of free countries to oppose the growing influence of China’s authoritarian…
Will Covid cost less than expected?
It’s no surprise that the bill for Covid-19 keeps racking up. The Office for Budget Responsibility’s latest forecast predicts borrowing will…
Spacs and the City: if London won’t, Amsterdam will
This column generally takes a sceptical view of financial novelties and gimmicks. So my antennae have twitched in recent days…
