Has the latest UK budget postponed any UK base rate rise?
Many analysts believe that UK base rates, currently held at 0.5%, are unlikely to increase until at least the second quarter of 2011 after the recent budget and the perceived impact this will have on economic growth. Over the last few days we have seen figures released from the UK government in relation to potential job losses in the public sector and a massive argument has ensued between the Conservative/Liberal coalition government and the Labour Party.
Prior to the emergency budget announced by George Osborne, the vast majority of analysts had expected a UK base rate rise in the first quarter of 2011 but slowly and surely this date is being pushed further and further back. If we see a weakness in the UK economy in the latter part of 2010 and the early part of 2011 this could yet again postpone any future UK base rate rise. There is certainly a feeling of doom and gloom amongst UK analysts at the moment and the revelation earlier this week that figures released by the Office for National Statistics may be "unreliable" has sent shockwaves through the analytical arena.
If we are unable to trust the figures provided by a UK government office then what basis can we use to forecast future economic activity?
Share this..
Related stories
Shares rise as Scotland say no to independence
19/09/2014 Share prices in companies listed on the London stock exchange have increased as a result of the Scottish independence referendum. It was announced that Scotland voted against independence in the referendum, and as a result the FTSE 100 increased by 0.75% this morning. The value of the pound also increased in response to the news that Scotland would remain a part of the United K...
Read MoreOrthodox economic solutions are nearly exhausted - what next?
As we see UK base rates fall to 1.5% there is concern that the UK government will be forced to use more unorthodox and risky initiatives in its mission to refloat the UK economy. Indeed only yesterday evening we saw speculation that the Treasury is on the verge of printing more money as a means of combating deflation in the UK and even though this has been denied, a Treasury spokesperson confirmed...
Read MoreGordon Brown calls on Bank of England to reduce base rates yet further
Gordon Brown has put himself in the rather awkward situation of seemingly trying to dictate the monetary policy of the Bank of England with a call for further UK base rate cuts in a speech in America. This is the first time for many years we have seen a UK prime minister openly call for the Bank of England, which is supposed to be independent from the government of the day, suggesting that base ra...
Read MoreInsolvencies up 8.5% in Q1
The number of insolvencies rose to 4,798 during the first quarter, as the credit crunch begun to impact on UK businesses. This figure is 374 more than in the preceding period and an increase of 124 on the final quarter of 2007. Furthermore, the increase of 8.5 per cent represents the first rise in 12 months, suggesting that the squeeze on credit in the financial markets is beginning to impact on t...
Read MoreUnpaid women 'contribute greatly to economy', studies find
The work done by Britain's women without pay has been investigated by two separate studies, the Press Association reports.Firstly, the Yorkshire building society has found that, if all household work and other chores received a salary, the average Briton would earn an extra £8,000 a year.Moreover, the firm found that the bulk of this work - including cooking, cleaning and ironing - was being done...
Read More