The Bank of England raised base rate by another quarter of a point to 4.5%, representing the 12th consecutive increase and a damning indictment of its failure to conduct competent monetary policy. The 0.25% uplift emulated the actions of both the U.S. Federal Reserve and European Central Bank although their benchmark rates are now 5%…
For the second month in a row, UK CPI inflation has been worse than expected and currently stands in double digits. The Bank of England noted the path of inflation may be bumpier than expected in the short term but is likely to fall from thereon. We suspect it is correct but then, the Bank…
Eurozone inflation was slightly higher than anticipated in February but it was the increase in core inflation (excluding food and energy) that caught the eye. Now, one may conclude that food and energy, although volatile, are very much ‘core’ but leaving that argument aside, if the price of everything else is still rising (at a…
We live in a curious age. For all our mediums of instant communication, language increasingly obfuscates rather than enlightens. It seems people wish to be told what they want to hear rather than face reality. As for governments, now ever more manned/womaned/theyd by the incompetent, it’s a desire they are happy to comply with,…
Inflation looks to be moderating but the rate increases keep coming. The Federal Reserve increased U.S. rates by 0.25% to a range of 4.5% – 4.75% while the European Central Banks and Bank of England raised by 0.5% to 2.5% and 4.0%, respectively. All still have base borrowing costs meaningfully below their present rates of…
Increasingly, we live in a world of stupidity. I was recently watching the TV (now, a rare event) and the first advert at the commercial break was for a food delivery app. You know the kind of thing; junk food at the press of a button brought by a kid on a moped. The following…
Remember last year, central banks were often using the word ‘transitory’? It’s not a word we hear, now. 2022 was the year when the sheer incompetence of modern day central banking became all too obvious. Having held the cost of money at close to zero for well over a decade, economic reality crashed through the…
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the world will face a ‘significant growth slowdown next year but will avoid a global recession’. We suspect this will prove as accurate as most OECD forecasts, which is not very accurate at all. It is our belief that it is close to impossible for…
Reversion to reality continues. Last month, the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England all raised rates by 0.75%. After more than a decade of nonsense, all are now perfectly synchronised. Is this because it is so obviously the right thing to do or are the latter two so inept…
I’ve always thought the word ‘crypto’ should have the letter ‘a’, somewhere and that Bitcoin should begin with a ‘sh’ sound. I’ve been asked many times what I thought about cryptocurrencies and at first, I said that I didn’t understand them. Now, after reading reams and listening to crypto experts, I can confidently say that…