Business Insider (September 9)
“For the first time in decades, the western world is preparing for widespread and rolling energy shortages. The US, UK, and EU have all been squeezed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, soaring costs for electricity and fuel, and record-breaking heat waves. While fall is just around the corner, the worst of the energy strain is likely still to come.”
Tags: Costs, Electricity, Energy shortages, EU, Fuel, Heat waves, Invasion, Record breaking, Russia, Soaring, U.S., UK, Ukraine, Western world
Investment Week (August 23)
In early August, the Bank of England predicted “increased gas prices would cause inflation to rise above 13% by the end of the year.” The consensus is worse. “Goldman Sachs and EY forecast UK consumer price inflation would reach 15%, and Bank of America projected it would peak at 14% in January.” Citi bank has gone further and “riled markets” by forecasting “UK CPI to hit 18.6% in January… beating the 1979 peak when CPI hit 17.8% following the OPEC oil shock.” A recession looks all but inevitable.
Tags: Bank of America, BOE, Citi bank, Consensus, CPI, EY, Forecast, Gas prices, Goldman Sachs, Inflation, Markets, Oil shock, OPEC, Peak, Recession, UK
The Guardian (August 22)
“England currently feels like an eerie, unpoliced, ungoverned, unstable country after a coup. One government is gone but another hasn’t replaced it, and opposition cannot rise to the challenge.” A macro analyst recently wrote that the UK increasingly looks like “an emerging market country…. Brexit coupled with Covid and high inflation have succeeded…. The UK economy is crushed.”
Tags: Analyst, Brexit, Challenge, Coup, Covid, Economy, Eerie, Emerging market, England, Government, Inflation, Opposition, UK, Ungoverned, Unpoliced, Unstable
Investment Week (July 25)
“Excluding investment companies and international companies whose London quote was secondary, 1,180 companies were listed on the LSE as of the last day of trading in May 2022, down from 1,349 in May 2019.” During the first half of 2022, “the number of companies floating on the LSE also fell drastically…with just 26 companies debuting, marking a 45% decline compared to the first half of 2021. The UK was not alone. Global IPO activity was poor, with the number of deals falling to 46%.”
BBC (July 20)
“Heat records tumbled and firefighters faced new blazes as much of Western Europe baked in a gruelling heatwave.” The UK “saw temperatures of more than 40C (104F) for the first time.” Germany had “its hottest day of the year,” as did the Netherlands, while in France “37,000 people had to be evacuated from their homes” due to wildfires. In the past week, Portugal alone has recorded “more than 1,000 heatwave-related deaths.”
Tags: Blazes, Deaths, Firefighters, France, Germany, Gruelling, Heat, Heatwave, Netherlands, Portugal, Records, Temperatures, UK, Western Europe, Wildfires
Investment Week (June 29)
“Shop price inflation in the UK accelerated to a near 14-year high in June, powered by a sharp rise in food prices as retailers battle rising supply chain expenses and a decline in consumer spending. Shop prices were up by 3.1% in June, up from 2.8% in May.” This marked “the highest rate of inflation since September 2008” and it was largely “powered by 5.6% growth in food prices.”
Tags: Consumer spending, Expenses, Food prices, High, Inflation, Retailers, Sharp rise, Shop price, Supply chain, UK
Investment Week (June 22)
“UK inflation has hit another 40 year high of 9.1% in May, up from 9% in April. The slight increase from already record high inflation rate came largely from rising food and non-alcoholic beverage prices,” while gas and diesel prices rose to “the highest on record.” The “top financial priority” for 58% of UK adults is now “day to day costs, like paying bills and for food.”
Investment Week (June 16)
“The industry has labelled the Bank of England a ‘timid cat’ following its interest rate rise of 0.25% in its bid to tackle inflation on Thursday (16 May), with many stating it was simply prolonging the time till they take the necessary action.” Following the 25-basis-point hike, UK interest rates stand at 1.25%, with the BoE expecting inflation “to peak at 11% in October.”
Tags: 0.25%, 1.25%, Action, BOE, Inflation, Interest rate, Necessary, October, Peak, Prolonging, Rise, Timid cat, UK
The Economist (June 11)
“Britain is stuck in a 15-year rut. It likes to think of itself as a dynamic, free-market place, but its economy lags behind much of the rich world. There is plenty of speechifying about growth, and no shortage of ideas about how to turn the country round. But the mettle and strategic thinking that reform requires are absent.”
Tags: Dynamic, Economy, Free market, Growth, Ideas, Lags, Mettle, Reform, Rich world, Rut, Speechifying, Strategic thinking, UK
The Guardian (March 30)
“The pandemic has changed, but the idea that it is over is false.” Last week, the UK had an estimated 4.26 million cases and hospital “admissions with Covid are only 2% below the first Omicron peak two months ago and still rising.” Nor is Covid endemic. Eventually, it probably will be, but endemic “does not necessarily mean mild,” as TB, Malaria and other endemic diseases illustrate. “Trying to ignore a disease that is still so unpredictable feels a bit like turning your back on a hungry tiger in the undergrowth.”
Tags: Admissions, Cases, Covid, Diseases, Endemic, False, Hospital, Hungry tiger, Malaria, Mild, Omicron, Pandemic, Peak, Rising, TB, UK, Unpredictable
