By any measure, today’s debt is cheap if you can get it. Not only cheap, but in many countries the cost of debt, of borrowing money, is tax free. Cheap untaxed borrowing means that equity has comparatively less attraction and companies tend to be more leveraged and thus operate at a higher level of financial […]
Continue ReadingOngoing uncertainty both at home and abroad are causing UK businesses to sit on cash surpluses, according to a new survey from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. ICAEW’s director of business Stephen Ibbotson said: “The results suggest that businesses have learnt their lessons from the 2007 financial crisis. We have seen […]
Continue ReadingThe latest labour productivity report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) makes grim reading. The ONS report that “…the absence of (UK) productivity growth in the seven years since 2007 is unprecedented in the post-war period…” Put that into context with the head of the IMF, Christine Lagarde’s statement on 9th April that the […]
Continue ReadingWith the average French worker producing in four days what the average British worker does in five, the productivity of UK business is not helped by excessive government bureaucracy. Confounding stereotypes, Italians are 9% more productive than the British and of the 15 initial members of the EU, only Greece and Portugal now have lower […]
Continue ReadingThat’s what the Economist reported the impact would be in the USA. This works out at about – $1.5 trillion. In Australia, Dr Ken Henry published a tax review back in 2010 proposing that stamp duty should be replaced with a broad-based land tax. This would help Australians deal with the rising cost of home […]
Continue Reading2014 saw the UK grow faster than any of the G7 countries, but at the cost of having one of the lowest productivities. To quote the Economist “The French could take Friday off and still produce more than Britons do in a week…A British employee produces a fifth less than a French one, but he […]
Continue ReadingThe accountancy firm BDO run an annual economic update seminar and with their confidence index showing an upswing, it’s interesting to put this into perspective. Douglas McWilliams, chairman of CEBR gave his thoughts for the upcoming year, some of which are highlighted here. They say if you have three economists in a room you get […]
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