As the UK economy has gradually recovered from the effects of the pandemic there has been the usual mixture of good and bad news. The glass could be half full, with the UK growing at the fastest rate of G20 countries, or half-empty, with worker shortages threatening to derail the recovery, both being headlines within …
Introduction October was the month which brought us Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s second Budget of the year. Normally that would make the headlines, but October was also a month when the world gave us plenty to worry about. With factors such as rising energy prices and supply chain issues impacting economies worldwide, the UK’s economic outlook …
At the end of August the CEO of Australian airline Qantas said that the pandemic had cost “billions” in lost revenue. No shock there – but on the same day another airline did come out with a surprising announcement. America’s third-largest airline, Delta, said that it would impose a $200 (£145) monthly surcharge on employees …
As we look back on the months passed since the UK first went into lockdown one thing is abundantly clear – financially, the last couple of years have been good for some people. We’re not talking about the billionaires who have seen their shares rocket during lockdown but rather the many, many people who have …
You may use it for beer or bread, for razor blades, watching films or even for the simple act of reading books on Amazon. The subscription economy is something that has taken a hold on a large and growing portion of the population. It used to be said that Britain was a nation of shopkeepers. …
You will no doubt be aware that September was a month when shortages dominated the headlines. As we will see below, it was by no means a problem confined to the UK: sadly it does not look like a problem that will quickly disappear. We have, for example, written previously about the shortage of semiconductor …
In June China’s ride-hailing app Didi, the country’s equivalent of Uber, floated on the US stock exchange. The company ended its first day with a valuation of $68.5bn (£49.6bn). That is the biggest flotation by a Chinese company in the US since Alibaba, popularly dubbed “the Chinese Amazon” and founded by China’s most high-profile tech …
If you’re the sort of person who likes their glass half-empty then there will be plenty of opportunities to find something to worry about at the moment. The recovery from the pandemic, global tensions and all the staff shortages in the news can turn anyone into a pessimist. On top of that, some are suggesting …
When Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak delivered his Budget speech in March much of the focus – inevitably – was on the economy’s recovery from the pandemic, and the cost of all the support measures. But Sunak also announced a host of new initiatives including freeports and a new campus for the Treasury. One …
The defining image of August 2021 had little to do with the stock market on the surface, it was, of course, the withdrawal of British and American troops from Afghanistan. As some readers will know, Afghanistan has significant mineral reserves, which some estimates put at $1tn (£730bn). These reserves include lithium, so it will be …
