UK inflation rate rise
The UK Consumer Prices Index (CPI) annual inflation rate rose to 3.3% in November, up from 3.2% in October, official figures show.
It followed record price rises for the October to November period in food, clothing and furniture, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
CPI inflation remains well above the government target of 2%.
Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation - which includes mortgage interest payments - rose to 4.7% from 4.5%.
Food and non-alcoholic drink prices were up by 1.6% between October and November, compared with a rise of 0.6% a year ago, the ONS said.
Clothing prices also rose by a record amount - of 2% - between the two months, with the biggest price rises found in men's outerwear.
Furniture, household equipment and maintenance also showed a record price rise of 1.6% between October and November.
The Bank of England expects inflation to remain high into next year, pushed higher by rises in VAT from 17.5% to 20% at the start of the year.
Some believe this will provide a screen that will allow retailers to put through more extensive price increases.
A report released on Tuesday by KPMG said that 60% of retailers and consumer product manufacturers planned to increase their prices over and above the VAT rise.
A British Retail Consortium spokesman, however, said the report was "nonsense".
The inflation rate has now remained above the 2% target by one percentage point or more for 12 months, and the Bank of England's governor, Mervyn King, has had to write four letters to the chancellor this year.
But with the new government having announced the biggest round of budget cuts since World War II, the Bank still expects the resulting slowdown in spending to bring inflation down over the next two years.
Commenting on the inflation figures, BNP Paribas economist Alan Clarke, said: "It's a disappointing number and it's only going to get worse in the next couple of months."
"Next month is utility bills, the month after that is VAT, it's all one-way traffic at the moment."
Categories: Uncategorized Tags: consumer prices, UK inflation
Books
Recession books
Read about and study the recession with recession books.
The internet is a mine of information on the recession, but it can be a bit overpowering when studying or researching a certain angle on the recession.
Many books have been written covering many aspects of the recession, such as "how to get a job during a recession" or "profiting from property during a recession", even "sex in the recession" may interest someone.
Browse our selected recession books. Read more...
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Pound falls after uk recession risk
Pound falls against dollar and euro on 'recession risk'
The pound has fallen sharply against the dollar and the euro after a Bank of England policymaker said the UK could yet fall back into recession.
The pound fell 2.4 cents, or 1.5%, against the dollar, to $1.503. Against the euro, it fell 1 cent, or 0.9%, to 1.100 euros.
The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee member Andrew Sentance said there was a chance of a double-dip recession.
The pound has been falling recently in the run-up to the general election.
"You have to recognise there is some risk of a double dip, but that's not the central forecast," Mr Sentance said.
The UK exited recession during the last three months of last year, but growth remains weak.
There are also concerns about the high level of UK public debt, although figures released on Thursday suggest borrowing this financial year will come in under the government's forecast.
Deficit cuts
Uncertainty about who will win the election, and whether there might be a hung parliament, has increased concerns about plans to cut debt levels.
This uncertainty has weighed on the pound.
The government has been forced to borrow heavily during the downturn, and the UK's budget deficit currently stands at 12.6% of GDP, one the highest in Europe.
Labour has announced plans to reduce the deficit to 4.7% by 2015, arguing that making more drastic cuts could harm the UK's recovery from recession.
But a European Union report released earlier this week said the plans were not ambitious enough.
The Conservatives also argue that cuts need to be made more quickly.
From the bbc
Categories: Uncategorized Tags: cuts, defecit, double dip, pound falls, uk Recession
The Eighties Recession Revisited
The Eighties Recession Revisited
I have recently been reading a book that was recommended to me and found it worth a mention here.
The Eighties Recession Revisited
As the Recession starts to deepen, John O’Donoghue, author of Sectioned: A Life Interrupted (John Murray, 2009) recalls the Recession of the early Eighties
Three million unemployed; business shedding jobs on a daily basis; homelessness on the increase; an unpopular government facing a tricky election; a war overseas; terrorism at home. 2010? No – I’m referring to 1982, the year
Behind the headlines from what now seems like a far-off date in history lie stories of hardship, devastation, and bewilderment. What is happening to
Categories: Uncategorized Tags: book, the eighties recession
middle classes living standards
Middle classes living standard squeezed
Britain's middle classes face the biggest financial squeeze for decades that will drastically affect their living standards, according to new research.
The findings show the typical family will face a decline in their income of around £300 - or 2.4 per cent - next year through higher taxes, mortgages and rises in the costs of food and other goods.
The richest in society will also see their spending power cut by up to nine per cent - which amounts to almost £5,000 a year.
They may be hit even further by this week's Pre Budget Report, which is expected to tighten the screw on higher earners.
But the less well-off are expected to actually see their spending power rise next year. A single mother who receives around £10,000 a year is due to have an extra £130 annually.
Accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers calculated the amounts based on the Government's current tax rules and future plans
Categories: Uncategorized Tags: living standards, middle classes
unemployment 2010
Unemployment in 2010
Unemployment will continue to rise in the new year, Work and Pensions Secretary Yvette Cooper predicted.
With figures showing almost 2.5 million people out of work in the three months to September, Ms Cooper said that total would keep growing in 2010.
The Government does not make formal forecasts on jobless figures, she told Sky News Sunday Live, but added: "We do expect unemployment to keep increasing in the new year."
As Chancellor Alistair Darling puts finishing touches to Wednesday's Pre Budget Report, Ms Cooper also said she hoped youth unemployment would fall in the second half of 2010.
The number of 16 to 24-year-olds out of work has reached a record high of 943,000, meaning almost one in five are not employed.
But recent figures have shown a slowing in the rate of rising unemployment, and Ms Cooper said: "I think if we see current trends continue and if we have a big further push to help, particularly on youth unemployment, and if we see employers also helping us and that's what I think should be our priority now. I do think we should be aiming, particularly for youth unemployment, to try and get youth unemployment falling in the second half of next year rather than see it rising for four or five years after the recession which is what happened in the 1980s. "We must never go back to that."
Categories: Uncategorized Tags: 2010, jobless, unemployed
debt rise september
£200 billion govt debt ?
Public borrowing rose by a further £14.8bn last month (september), taking the half-yearly figure to its highest ever level
September's rise means Government net borrowing stands at £77.3bn for the six months of the financial year so far.
That is the highest half-yearly figure since Office for National Statistics (ONS) records began in 1946.
The Treasury expects borrowing to reach a record £175bn for the year as the cost of the recession drains public finances.
Total spending stood at £45.7bn over the month compared with just £35.4bn in receipts.
This is because the Government is having to spend more on outlays such as unemployment benefits but is receiving less as the jobless total rises. Read more...
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Gordon brown car boot sale
UK Recession prompts massive car boot sale
Like most families that are struggling to make ends meet, Gordon brown has initiated what has been called a massive car boot sale.
Gordon brown hopes to raise 16 billion pounds to help bail the uk economy out of the mire. The money will be raised by selling national assets such as the channel tunnel, the dartford crossing, the tote, and the student loan book.
Gordon browns announcement
Categories: Uncategorized Tags: car boot sale, uk Recession
Nouriel Roubini
Nouriel Roubini: Dr doom, warning
Dr Roubini, a Professor of Economics at New York University's Stern School of Business who warned of looming financial disaster in 2006, also warned that commodity markets will fall as the slow pace of recovery disappoints investors.
Many stock markets have enjoyed their best-ever half-year rises as fears of a global depression have rapidly lifted. The FTSE All-World index at its best was recently up nearly 70% from the bottom. Emerging markets have risen more than 90%
'Eventually markets are going to flatten out and correct to valuations that are justified. I see a growing gap between what markets are doing and the weaker real economic activities Read more...
Categories: Uncategorized Tags: dr doom, ftse, roubini
Recession to depression
Could the recession lead to depression
All statistics and past and present information indicate that the recession has a long way to go. A whole decade or two. From recession to depression….it can happen….why…….
Borrowing money now to fix the current state of economy (short term goal as everything else in politics will only make further future debts even higher then they should be especially the way the western international banks charge interests, rates never stay low…for long periods unless we become a nation that conforms to the Islamic way of banking where interest are not allowed hence their economies have low interest for life….which I highly doubt the big banks in the our part of the world will ever allow that.
This huge debt burden will be passed down to a future generation who are yet to finish the primarily school. We have to think how is this future generation is going to make all this money up and if the state of the economy at that period will allow or facilitate them to do just that, they will have make very large contribution in tax from their wages, assuming that highly paid private sector jobs will be available to them in this country in huge numbers, which I will explain a later stage. Read more...
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