The ECB has decided to cut rates by 25bps to a record low of 50bps this week, in a move that was widely expected. Despite much of the reporting of this historic decision focussing on the market reaction and the effect on the euro, it is the impact of this...

The prospect of Scottish independence is a very real and highly contentious issue. The campaigns 'for' and 'against' an independent Scotland began in earnest last year. However, the publication of a paper by HM Treasury this week, outlining the reasons why we are 'Better Off Together', has reignited the discussion...

I wrote a global outlook piece at the end of last year, where I tipped 2013 to be "the year of the slow grind". Following today's latest set of economic predictions, it seems that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is coming round to that way of thinking.
The...

Trying conditions bring out the fundamentalist in people and financial shocks are certainly no different. We regularly hear about survivalists stocking up on tinned goods, rifles and ammunition and heading to the hills to wait out the coming apocalypse. If there was a financial equivalent they would be what we...

This year's budget is now in the books with the overall reaction in the press, at least, being one of general political, if not economic, positivity. That's the great thing about the expectations game, coming into this budget most people would have been indifferent even if a plague of locusts...

If you need to find any evidence of the impact of the UK's economic problems, you really don't have to go too far. My food shop is the place where I personally have felt the pinch most profoundly, as inflation has played havoc with the price of my weekly trip...

It's never a nice feeling when you're wrong. That slow realisation that you may be mistaken, that your position is in fact incorrect when the facts are laid out in front of your eyes can be painful. However, when you do come to the conclusion that the sky is not...

Wednesday's news from the ONS, which revealed that the UK's economy grew more than previously thought in 2012, has prompted some cautious some optimism after a tough few weeks for the UK. Growth throughout 2012 was actually 0.2%, following revisions to both Q1 and Q3 data.

Statistically this does...

As much as the UK is grey and cold outside, we all know that spring is on its way and with it comes the opportunity to make progress with things that may have taken a backseat in the winter months. People talk about 'blowing out the cobwebs' and 'spring cleaning'...

David Cameron's speech on the future of the UK's relationship with the EU was meant to be delivered on 22 January, a highly significant day in the history of European politics with it being the anniversary of the Elysee treaty. Needless to say this has been moved, so that the...

If you spent the Christmas and New Year period avoiding the news then don't worry, you haven't missed much. Outside of the US 'fiscal cliff' chatter the world of economics took a rest in December and with this is in mind we cannot see the Bank of England this week...

Following a decidedly volatile year, the last few months of 2012 have bucked the trend and we have entered a period of relative calm. Exchange rates have remained somewhat flat since the end of September, and this has prompted many businesses to sit back and relax a little when it...

George Osborne delivered a sombre assessment of the state of the UK economy this week in his Autumn Statement. Although he could arguably be said to have glossed over some of the details, the Chancellor made no bones about it - we're not in good shape. However, there weren't really...

For a government that has always had a bee in its bonnet about immigration it is delicately ironic that they have parachuted the Canadian, Mark Carney, into the Bank of England to become the new governor. Reports over the weekend suggested that Paul Tucker would be the man for the...

Markets have remained in a virtual standstill throughout the past week, with money seemingly left out of the game, sat on the side-lines, waiting for clarification, either way, as to whether the Spanish will eventually ask for bailout for the sovereign, having already applying for one for the banking sector....

Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England, is due to stand down from his post in June of next year. During his tenure, interest rates have hit and remained at historic lows and a brave asset purchase program remains on-going. All of these efforts have been undertaken in order...

I have written about today's topic a fair few times in the past, but Friday's late announcement by the ratings agency, Fitch, that they were putting the UK's credit rating on a 'negative outlook', cannot be passed up.

The mess that is the sovereign ratings space can be summed...

It seems like at some point in the past few years we have talked about almost every single nation in the Eurozone as being the next domino in line for a fall. Austria's banks were a major cause for concern in 2010, and then the fall of Berlusconi triggered fears...

The "Pacific Coast Highway", one of the great American drives. Just the name evokes visions of relaxation in my mind. Anyone who has ever navigated that sunny Californian road will remember the journey itself, rather than destination at the end. It was this road that dominated my thoughts on Friday,...

So, it's all over. The London Olympics are now consigned to the history books and the fantastic events which have lit up this summer will live long in the memory. We will all have our favourite moments, there's plenty to choose from. We leave London 2012 behind with new heroes...