For years now it has been a struggle to find anything positive to write about the Eurozone economy. Plagued by slow growth, high unemployment and intermittent sovereign debt crises it has been the developed world’s economic problem child. It’s too early yet to declare victory in the war against poor economic performance but there are signs that the region is staging a sustained, if modest recovery. Continue reading
During the three months to February 2017, Northern Ireland’s unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percentage points to 5.2% (UK = 4.7%). This represents the lowest unemployment rate since the period September – November 2008. Meanwhile, Northern Ireland’s youth unemployment rate (18-24yrs of age) dipped below the 13% mark for the first time in 7 years. At 12.9% (UK = 10.4%), this is almost half the rate that prevailed at the peak in Q3 2013. Surely, cause for celebration? Continue reading
Today saw the release of data on Northern Ireland’s labour market. Here’s what it is telling us: Continue reading
UK businesses appear in decent shape. Turnover is up as are Corporation Tax receipts. Yet sterling has lost roughly one-tenth of its value since June and that’s raising input costs and squeezing profits. A long summer of falling costs boosting profits is coming to an end. Continue reading
If you’re walking in the dark it’s useful to know where you’re starting from. With Q2 GDP growth confirmed at 0.6%, supported by decent data for June, we can be confident that the UK economy started the summer in decent shape.
The first full post-referendum week was nothing if not eventful. Financial markets were volatile and uncertainty about economic policy has jumped. We await tomorrow’s publication of the Financial Stability Report and yet another opportunity for the Bank of England’s policy makers to offer their views. Continue reading
Last week saw jobs and wages rise whilst inflation and interest rates stayed flat. Economists fret about slow productivty growth and the damage that does in the long term. But right now conditions could be much worse. Continue reading
When it comes to the labour market statistics, Northern Ireland’s Economy Minister couldn’t be getting off to a better start. Continue reading
With five weeks to go before the EU referendum the campaigns are now in full swing and scrutinising every piece of data for signs of Brexit nervousness. Yet there’s still a lot going on that isn’t driven by our domestic political agenda and the Bank of England conceeded that the noise is making its job of interpreting the data more difficult. Continue reading
In government, as in football, budget isn’t everything. The English Premier League is the biggest money soccer championship in the world, but yet one of the minnows in financial terms has just claimed the title. Continue reading
