Economy

It’s an odd quirk of history that, on the first day of his ill-fated presidential campaign in March 1968, Robert F Kennedy chose to talk to his audience about the limitations of gross domestic product* (GDP) – the world’s headline indicator of economic progress. It seems stranger still that, despite the power of that iconic […]

Strikes are often demonised in the UK as outdated and even unethical, but this summer has seen more workers considering and embarking on industrial action. Railway workers from the RMT (Rail Maritime and Transport) union have been among the most visible strikers, but barristers, airline staff and council workers have also taken or considered action, […]

Could quiet quitting be for you? 1st footage / Shutterstock In many offices (not to mention on Zoom, Teams and Slack), employees and managers alike are whispering about the “great resignation”. The UK saw a sharp rise in people quitting their jobs in 2021, and one fifth of UK workers still say they plan to […]

While Putin reduces Russian gas supplies, Europe has become more dependent on shipments of LNG. Bill Chizek Photography/Alamy While thermometers have been well into the red across the northern hemisphere, people are panicking about the cost of energy bills once winter starts to bite. According to the latest forecasts in the UK, the minimum price […]

Households and businesses across the UK may need to adjust their living habits in line with spiking bills this winter. Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock UK inflation, already at 40-year highs, could pass 13% in October, according to Bank of England forecasts. While wages have not kept pace with inflation, much of the expected squeeze […]

The chip wars are hotting up. andriano.cz US semiconductor giant Micron is to invest US$40 billion (£33 billion) during the 2020s in chip manufacturing in America, creating 40,000 jobs. This is on the back of incentives in the recent US Chips Act, which has also unlocked major investments from fellow US players Intel and Qualcomm. […]

The triple lock increases some benefits payments by inflation, earnings or 2.5%, whichever is highest. Max_Z / Shutterstock Plans to increase state pension payments in line with inflation have been reinstated by the UK government and are supported by both of the contenders for the Conservative party leadership. But even if inflation was not always […]

Improvements to the GB power market could help tackle the coming energy crisis. Bohbeh / Shutterstock British households are bracing for a winter of massive energy price increases. The average annual bill is forecast to rise above £4,000, which is more than three times what Britons were paying just 12 months ago. French households, meanwhile, […]

The ongoing Conservative Party leadership hustings haven’t seen much agreement between candidates, but they have resulted in the creation of a new political narrative: “Gordon Brown economics”. Foreign secretary Liz Truss explained away her rejection of cost of living “handouts” for households with the phrase. But even as she indicated a possible u-turn on the […]

Shutterstock/seisler There’s a good chance that you would like to see COVID disappear for good. And you may also wish for an end to the war in Ukraine – or any other war for that matter. But would you feel the same way if you were the head of a big pharmaceutical corporation which has […]

Household bills have spiked in 2022. Cast of Thousands / Shutterstock UK households have faced unprecedented blows to their living standards in 2022. Home energy costs have more than doubled and are threatening to triple, the price of petrol has risen by more than half since the start of last year and overall price inflation […]

Supermarket sweep. Shutterstock/Song_about_summer The cost-of-living crisis continues. The UK rate of inflation is up yet again, and expected to rise further. And as energy, transport, fuel and groceries all get more expensive, there are fears that over 4 million British households are experiencing financial difficulties. A recent survey suggests, perhaps unsurprisingly, that low prices will […]