The Bank of England has now reversed £300 billion of Quantitative Easing
... but it still hasn't got back to March 2020 levels, that will need another £200 billion of asset purchases to be reversed. Here is the…
@candy49
UK gilt yields soar - for the first time this century the UK is paying more to borrow than the US
Normally British and American bond yields track each other. For good reason, as they are both service dominated economies with big housing and financial sectors. But yields are…
UK trade surplus with New Zealand jumps after trade deal
The Brexit transition ended on 31st December 2020, after which Britain was free to sign trade deals around the world. The trade deal with New Zealand was signed in October 2021…
Why are Holiday Inn hotels housing migrants, but Premier Inn hotels arn't?
It comes down to business models. Holiday Inn are part of Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG hotels and Resorts). They're a British multinational listed on both the London Stock…
The UK's trade deficit with China widened to £39 billion
This was down to a sharp decrease in exports of goods to China. (Services exports were up, but not enough to offset the decline in goods). Here is the table:…
The Pound's share of Global Foreign Exchange Reserves is at the highest since 2000
The Pound is now the third most held foreign currency (5.1%), after the dollar (57.74%) and euro (20.06%) according to the IMF. Here is the…
The UK now has a trade surplus with Japan thanks to services
The first post Brexit trade deal the UK made was with Japan. It was signed on 23rd October 2020 and came into effect in 2021. It eliminated many of the tariffs that had applied…
How Britain got a better trade deal from Trump than the EU
The Brits got their timing right. They cut their deal at the moment Trump was at his most vulnerable. Here's the timeline: April 2nd: Trump announces his Liberation Day…
UK trade with Australia has jumped since the trade deal came into force in 2023
The Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement, which was signed on 17th December 2021, came into force on 31st May 2023. The deal eliminated 99% of tariffs on both sides. 2024 was the…
Labour is heading into an employment crisis
The media has been focused on the UK unemployment rate rising to 4.6% from 4% at the general election in July 2024. But that is based on a survey and distorted by the…