The UK’s broken infrastructure will cost trillions to repair. Water needs £150-200 bln – roughly what Water Companies have paid (PV) in dividends since 1990. Thatcher sold water for £1 bln. Today we face a £200 bln repair bill. Discuss.
The multiple problems facing the UK will not be solved by Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party trying to be better Tories than the Tories. We don’t need better Tories. We need a better UK.
Confidence is critical in any financial decision. Markets rise or fall based on the confidence in the narrative; be it companies, sovereign bonds, or disruptive tech, but sometimes it becomes too exhausting to keep fooling ourselves.
The nations of the West face crisis: how to fund vital infrastructure and critical defence spending without upsetting bond markets? They are worrying about the wrong things. Time to rethink government spending and how to do it.
The well-respected head of the UK’s Debt Management Office, Sir Robert Stheeman, retires this year. His successor will need tact, diplomacy and technical experience to maintain the DMO’s reputation for handling the Gilt Market. Continuity is paramount, and one candidate stands out for the role.
Jeremy Hunt tried hard to be interesting, but it was all a bit forgettable. An election is coming. How bad will it be? As for selling Natwest to fund UK growth – has Hunt actually considered the outlook for banks as the risk outlook deepens?
As the global economy stands on the precipice - about to step forward, Scotland announces its going to launch its debut bond issue. It is political theatre of the worst kind – there are so many reasons it’s such a bad idea – today. Tomorrow might be different.
Who wins from atrocity in Gaza? UK wages are still rising, but the threat is no longer wage spiral inflation, but job losses and a crash landing as the lag effects of rates rises, inflation and consumer spending create a perfect slough of despond.
The Thames Water debacle is shaping up to be a critical “Judder” moment for the UK. Public utility privatisations decades ago have left a legacy of underinvestment and broken services. The bills will be enormous – and crippling - creating a potential investment crisis.
Phillips Curve economics calls for higher unemployment to calm inflation. Great plan says The Bank and Chancellor while consigning millions of UK citizens to penury. We need something better than wrecking lives and the economy.