| Six biggest US banks quit net zero alliance on 08:44 - Jan 10 with 535 views | SuperKieranMcKenna |
| Six biggest US banks quit net zero alliance on 07:06 - Jan 10 by Swansea_Blue |
And that international debt seems to be where we’re held hostage by the interest rates. Could the government not borrow instead from the BoE at lower rates? Or even from UK savers? That seems to be the suggestion in some circles. |
The borrowing from savers is perhaps the most progressive idea. Printing money has been done enthusiastically post GFC and seen a period of declining living standards, real term declines in wages, weak growth and some studies suggested an inflationary impact. BoE say further QE could limit it’s ability to control interest rates, and thus could have a knock on effect on Sterling. It’s also quite close to what Farage had in Reform’s manifesto, albeit for tax cuts. |  | |  |
| Six biggest US banks quit net zero alliance on 08:48 - Jan 10 with 515 views | Pinewoodblue |
| Six biggest US banks quit net zero alliance on 08:44 - Jan 10 by SuperKieranMcKenna |
The borrowing from savers is perhaps the most progressive idea. Printing money has been done enthusiastically post GFC and seen a period of declining living standards, real term declines in wages, weak growth and some studies suggested an inflationary impact. BoE say further QE could limit it’s ability to control interest rates, and thus could have a knock on effect on Sterling. It’s also quite close to what Farage had in Reform’s manifesto, albeit for tax cuts. |
Reeves needs us to be spenders, not savers, if she is going to grow the economy. |  |
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| Six biggest US banks quit net zero alliance on 10:49 - Jan 10 with 474 views | DJR |
| Six biggest US banks quit net zero alliance on 22:12 - Jan 9 by CoachRob |
Isabella Weber, a heterodox economist, showed in the linked paper how Neoclassical economists were wrong (again) on the causes of inflation. Even Krugman did a U-turn on that one.
https://www.elgaronline.com/view/journals/roke/11/2/article-p183.xml
Reeves has tried to stick to the dogma you find in any Neoclassical economics textbook. It will be interesting to see where she goes next, I think this rubbish should have been put to bed after the GFC, but given we are now halfway through the decisive decade on climate change, we had better change tack soon or as we are seeing in Los Angeles, the damages will be colossal.
The latest weird trend I have noticed is that right-wing Neoclassical theory is now 'independent' and heterodox theory is loony left-wing. Economics has become such a political battleground that I'm not sure any side is particularly interested in the truth. There was a chap on here recently questioning the economic acumen of a fellow poster, another said to me that prediction/ forecasting was beyond economists because of epistemic/deep uncertainty. The vocal ones on here constantly contradict each other and often make little sense (they're just nicking stuff off social media and then claiming it as their own thoughts).
I recently volunteered for a food bank which turns out to be a baby bank, clothes bank, sanitary bank, toy bank, debt advisor, provides free internet and supports numerous Ukrainian refugees. The people who have been running this for a few years now are incredibly selfless and see the true impact of idiotic economic policy. |
Interesting article. For what it's worth (and I am no economist), I had come to a slightly similar conclusion, my thesis being that low inflationary circumstances and competition had made it difficult to raise prices for a long period, but the dam had broken in the last three or four years with firms no longer feeling quite the same obligation to rein it in.
In the grocery sector, this has meant that there is still a difference between the discounters and the more upmarket supermarkets, but they have all been content to raise prices at roughly the same level to maintain high levels of profitability. And of course, there have been losers in terms of market share (Asda?) but that has been happening for a long time.
As it is, I have always tended to think of economics as an art masquerading as a science.
I have a friend who studied economics in the 1990s and who took the view that the syllabus, and thus the prevailing orthodoxy, was very narrow.
That being the case, I wonder if you think it a disadvantage that Reeves herself is an economist. I say this because Darling (along with Brown) are thought to have done very well during the GFC, an unprecedented event where the world came close to disaster, and neither were economists. Having said that, Osborne (a non-economist) did not do well, but maybe that was because his primary motive was political, namely, shrinking the state.
EDIT: This is not good news, but could be said to be the result of the political decision by Labour to rule out tax rises other than those in the Budget..
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/jan/09/rachel-reeves-cuts-public-servi
Reeves mulls deeper cuts to public services as borrowing costs soar [Post edited 10 Jan 17:53]
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| Six biggest US banks quit net zero alliance on 11:03 - Jan 10 with 444 views | Pinewoodblue |
| Six biggest US banks quit net zero alliance on 10:49 - Jan 10 by DJR |
Interesting article. For what it's worth (and I am no economist), I had come to a slightly similar conclusion, my thesis being that low inflationary circumstances and competition had made it difficult to raise prices for a long period, but the dam had broken in the last three or four years with firms no longer feeling quite the same obligation to rein it in.
In the grocery sector, this has meant that there is still a difference between the discounters and the more upmarket supermarkets, but they have all been content to raise prices at roughly the same level to maintain high levels of profitability. And of course, there have been losers in terms of market share (Asda?) but that has been happening for a long time.
As it is, I have always tended to think of economics as an art masquerading as a science.
I have a friend who studied economics in the 1990s and who took the view that the syllabus, and thus the prevailing orthodoxy, was very narrow.
That being the case, I wonder if you think it a disadvantage that Reeves herself is an economist. I say this because Darling (along with Brown) are thought to have done very well during the GFC, an unprecedented event where the world came close to disaster, and neither were economists. Having said that, Osborne (a non-economist) did not do well, but maybe that was because his primary motive was political, namely, shrinking the state.
EDIT: This is not good news, but could be said to be the result of the political decision by Labour to rule out tax rises other than those in the Budget..
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/jan/09/rachel-reeves-cuts-public-servi
Reeves mulls deeper cuts to public services as borrowing costs soar [Post edited 10 Jan 17:53]
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There is less resistance from buyers which enables businesses to see how far they can push profit margins up.
For example assume Town retain Premier League status next season just how big a price increase would be needed to impact on season ticket sales? | |
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| Six biggest US banks quit net zero alliance on 11:08 - Jan 10 with 426 views | DJR |
| Six biggest US banks quit net zero alliance on 11:03 - Jan 10 by Pinewoodblue |
There is less resistance from buyers which enables businesses to see how far they can push profit margins up.
For example assume Town retain Premier League status next season just how big a price increase would be needed to impact on season ticket sales? |
That's true too. Indeed, buyers are now used to price rises, which is part of what I described as the dam bursting. [Post edited 10 Jan 11:13]
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| Six biggest US banks quit net zero alliance on 11:18 - Jan 10 with 393 views | lowhouseblue |
| Six biggest US banks quit net zero alliance on 10:49 - Jan 10 by DJR |
Interesting article. For what it's worth (and I am no economist), I had come to a slightly similar conclusion, my thesis being that low inflationary circumstances and competition had made it difficult to raise prices for a long period, but the dam had broken in the last three or four years with firms no longer feeling quite the same obligation to rein it in.
In the grocery sector, this has meant that there is still a difference between the discounters and the more upmarket supermarkets, but they have all been content to raise prices at roughly the same level to maintain high levels of profitability. And of course, there have been losers in terms of market share (Asda?) but that has been happening for a long time.
As it is, I have always tended to think of economics as an art masquerading as a science.
I have a friend who studied economics in the 1990s and who took the view that the syllabus, and thus the prevailing orthodoxy, was very narrow.
That being the case, I wonder if you think it a disadvantage that Reeves herself is an economist. I say this because Darling (along with Brown) are thought to have done very well during the GFC, an unprecedented event where the world came close to disaster, and neither were economists. Having said that, Osborne (a non-economist) did not do well, but maybe that was because his primary motive was political, namely, shrinking the state.
EDIT: This is not good news, but could be said to be the result of the political decision by Labour to rule out tax rises other than those in the Budget..
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/jan/09/rachel-reeves-cuts-public-servi
Reeves mulls deeper cuts to public services as borrowing costs soar [Post edited 10 Jan 17:53]
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i won't claim to have read the whole article - but the abstract and the intro and i got the gist. it seemed to me that figure 2a could tell a very different story to the one the author intends. there's a long period from 2011 where inflation is primarily wage growth rather than profit growth. then the event which seems to be the precursor to higher inflation is three quarters in which the wage share grows very rapidly at the cost of a shrinking profit share (it's actually negative). that would seem to be the trigger to the inflation that followed, with the profit share within the inflation that follows only then seeking to recapture what had been lost. that figure therefore does look to be consistent with a classic wage / price spiral. |  |
| And so as the loose-bowelled pigeon of time swoops low over the unsuspecting tourist of destiny, and the flatulent skunk of fate wanders into the air-conditioning system of eternity, I notice it's the end of the show |
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| Six biggest US banks quit net zero alliance on 15:56 - Jan 10 with 310 views | DJR |
| Six biggest US banks quit net zero alliance on 10:49 - Jan 10 by DJR |
Interesting article. For what it's worth (and I am no economist), I had come to a slightly similar conclusion, my thesis being that low inflationary circumstances and competition had made it difficult to raise prices for a long period, but the dam had broken in the last three or four years with firms no longer feeling quite the same obligation to rein it in.
In the grocery sector, this has meant that there is still a difference between the discounters and the more upmarket supermarkets, but they have all been content to raise prices at roughly the same level to maintain high levels of profitability. And of course, there have been losers in terms of market share (Asda?) but that has been happening for a long time.
As it is, I have always tended to think of economics as an art masquerading as a science.
I have a friend who studied economics in the 1990s and who took the view that the syllabus, and thus the prevailing orthodoxy, was very narrow.
That being the case, I wonder if you think it a disadvantage that Reeves herself is an economist. I say this because Darling (along with Brown) are thought to have done very well during the GFC, an unprecedented event where the world came close to disaster, and neither were economists. Having said that, Osborne (a non-economist) did not do well, but maybe that was because his primary motive was political, namely, shrinking the state.
EDIT: This is not good news, but could be said to be the result of the political decision by Labour to rule out tax rises other than those in the Budget..
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/jan/09/rachel-reeves-cuts-public-servi
Reeves mulls deeper cuts to public services as borrowing costs soar [Post edited 10 Jan 17:53]
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I know there's a lot of talk about borrowing costs but I thought this (which was not widely reported) was interesting.
https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/governmentpublicsectorandtaxes/publicsectorfinanc
In November 2024, the interest payable on central government debt was £3.0 billion. This is a decrease of £4.7 billion, compared with November 2023, and the lowest November figure since November 2019, when it was £2.3 billion. This is largely because the interest payable on index-linked gilts rises and falls with the Retail Prices Index.
Quite how this fits into the mix is above my paygrade but maybe somebody knows the answer. I might add that I know that a higher percentage of UK government debt is index-linked than that of other G7 countries, and presumably it now looks like the RPI may not fall as much as hoped.
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/why-high-rates-affect-uk-060000075.html?guccou [Post edited 10 Jan 16:04]
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