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Georgie Frost

This Is Money: What does the tax-cutting mini-Budget mean for you and the UK?

Georgie Frost
Original Broadcast:

This is Money

This Is Money: What does the tax-cutting mini-Budget mean for you and the UK?
Britain's new Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng delivered a blistering mini-Budget this week that was anything that small. A wave of tax cuts were unleashed. Some had been heavily trailed, such as spiking the National Insurance hike and a stamp duty reduction, but there were also two rabbits out of the hat: a cut in basic rate income tax to 19p from April and abolishing the 45p income tax rate. Those tax cuts joined a wave of spending commitments, most notably the huge energy price guarantee bailout for Britain's households and businesses. Paul Johnson, of the IFS, said: 'Mr Kwarteng is not just gambling on a new strategy, he is betting the house'. Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert discuss what the going for growth mini-Budget means for people, how much they may save in tax, and whether it will work or cause the UK economy even more problems down the line. One thing was clear in the aftermath: markets didn't like the break from the orthodoxy that they saw, and the pound tumbled below $1.10 while UK gilt yields jumped. But how much does that have to do with the mini-Budget and how much does it have to do with the Bank of England's rate decision that delivered a bumper rise of 0.5%, which was still considered small next to the US Federal Reserve's 0.75% bazooka? And finally, we've heard lots of 'glass half-empty' verdicts on our current economic situation but what is the 'glass half-full' one? Simon has a crack.

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Gavin Oldham

Thought for the Week: Energy Supply - the Silver Lining

Gavin Oldham
Original Broadcast:

Thought for the Week

Thought for the Week: Energy Supply - the Silver Lining
The ground-breaking announcement last week from the Oxford Institute for New Economic Thinking, almost totally eclipsed when it was published, is that decarbonizing the energy system by 2050 could save at least $12 trillion compared to continuing with our current levels of fossil fuel use. So, once this has transformed energy supply across the world, can we at last look forward to a silver lining to the dark clouds currently hanging over us, in terms of drawing a line under climate change, economic turmoil and international conflict? Background music: 'Solar Power' by Ashley Shadow. Image source: Institute for New Economic Thinking

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Gavin Oldham

Thought for the Week: Future generations left stranded by Baby Boomers

Gavin Oldham
Original Broadcast:

Thought for the Week

Thought for the Week: Future generations left stranded by Baby Boomers
Hardly a day goes by without yet more evidence of our approach to empowering the next generation being wholly dysfunctional; the gap between Baby Boomer and Millenial wealth is reaching record proprtions. Meanwhile, as President Biden made his bold move last week to cancel student debt, it provoked an explosive eruption of criticism from Wall Street Journal readers. Here in the UK, another initiative to help the young, the Child Trust Fund, has over £1 billion waiting to be claimed by young adults, almost all from low-income backgrounds, due to a lack of focus from Government. It's hard to avoid the conclusion that we are a selfish and short-sighted generation of ‘Baby Boomers’ — we need to stand back and take stock of our failure to empower coming generations. Background music: 'Future Glider' by Brian Bolger Please visit Webpage for charts and links: https://www.shareradio.co.uk/thinkingaloud/newsletters/comment-wc-2022-08-30/

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Gavin Oldham

Thought for the Week: Wanted - Systemic Commitment for Inter-generational Rebalancing

Gavin Oldham
Original Broadcast:

Thought for the Week

Thought for the Week: Wanted - Systemic Commitment for Inter-generational Rebalancing
Are rich people who come from poverty more likely to be sympathetic to others in poverty because they understand their lives? Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, clearly isn't: here he is speaking in 2014 'You are poor because you have no ambition'. And a new study confirms that those who make the journey from rags to riches are more likely to pull the ladder up behind them. It goes to show that, if we want a fair and just society where young people have not only the life skills but also some resources to achieve their potential as an adult, we must build the strategy into the structure of our economic governance: much as public health and addressing climate change are accepted by an all-party consensus. Background Music: Waterfall by Aakash Ghandi

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Gavin Oldham

Thought for the Week: Guiding Principles for our first 250

Gavin Oldham
Original Broadcast:

Thought for the Week

Thought for the Week: Guiding Principles for our first 250
Welcome to our 250th commentary, produced over these last five years since Share Radio moved to 100% online broadcasting. It's been a period of massive change and increasing clarity on what we need to do to sort out the problems of the world, and we hope these thoughts are making some contribution in that respect. To mark this staging point we thought it might be helpful to set out some of the guiding principles which have steered, and will continue to steer, our comment. For our full list of commentaries, please visit https://www.shareradio.co.uk/thinkingaloud/newsletters/ Background music: Hovering Thoughts by Spence

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Georgie Frost

This Is Money: How will rapidly rising interest rates affect you?

Georgie Frost
Original Broadcast:

This is Money

This Is Money: How will rapidly rising interest rates affect you?
Base rate has gone from 0.1% to 1.25% in the space of six months, in a flurry of rate rising that would have been considered unthinkable a year ago. Yet, as the Bank of England delivered another 0.25% raise, voices were raised in some corners to demand why it hadn't gone further. Why not a 0.5% jump or even a 0.75% one, as the Fed had delivered in the US? With inflation running at 9% and expected to head north into double digits, the onus is on the Bank of England to show it has a grip and we aren't heading back to the 1970s. But is rapidly raising rates the right thing to do and how will it affect savers, borrowers and investors? Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert discuss the case for and against rate rises and what the impact is for the economy and people. Mortgage rates have risen even faster than the base rate, so what can those who need to remortgage do - and will this sink house prices? The team assess the prospects for the property market and offer their tips on what borrowers should do to prepare and protect themselves. Meanwhile, over in the US, it's the stock market that's suffering as rates rise. Why is that, and how bad could this bear market be? And finally, petrol prices keep hitting record highs and we want people to switch to electric cars but the Government has swiped away the £1,500 grant that helps people buy more affordable models. Will that make a difference, or has electric car demand reached a level where ditching a bung to help out is wise?

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Gavin Oldham

Thought for the Week: Government must learn how to be a catalyst

Gavin Oldham
Original Broadcast:

Thought for the Week

Thought for the Week: Government must learn how to be a catalyst
The Bank of England expects the price inflation peak to be high, but short-lived: however if it feeds into wage inflation it could seriously undermine both national debt servicing and the property market: that's why the Government appears to be adopting a tight fiscal stance and announcing a large reduction in the civil service. Carefully targeted support with the swiftly rising cost of living is urgently needed for those most in need and, if the Government can't or won't respond, it could be enabled through the voluntary sector: with Government acting as catalyst. However this is a role to which they're not currently accustomed. Background music: 'Everything has a Beginning' by Joel Cummins.

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Gavin Oldham

Thought for the Week: Inflation Drivers

Gavin Oldham
Original Broadcast:

Thought for the Week

Thought for the Week: Inflation Drivers
The range of major drivers which will steer inflation over the years ahead is wide and diverse, but their duration must be considered as well as their positive or negative impact on rates. For example, the drivers most affected by Putin's war in Ukraine are energy shortages and supply chain disruption, and the threat of de-globalisation in future. These all contribute to higher inflation but it is only a more cautionary approach leading towards de-globalisation which will persist. Meanwhile technology, demographics and a swifter transition to low cost alternative energy will all bear down on price rises. In this commentary we take a look at nine major influences on future rates of inflation, and conclude that central bankers are right to be cautious about chasing after inflation with their interest rate policy.

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Gavin Oldham

Thought for the Week: Abundance and Scarcity

Gavin Oldham
Original Broadcast:

Thought for the Week

Thought for the Week: Abundance and Scarcity
The contrast in wealth distribution between key regions and countries around the world is as stark as ever. In this commentary, using analysis in the Credit Suisse Global Wealth Databook, we look at the convergence we need to achieve in order to help encourage a more egalitarian form of global capitalism. The music accompanying this episode is The Nexus Riddim by Konrad OldMoney

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Gavin Oldham

Thought for the Week: Needed - A Strategy for Sharing

Gavin Oldham
Original Broadcast:

Thought for the Week

Thought for the Week: Needed - A Strategy for Sharing
There's no question over Rishi Sunak's commitment to a strategy to encourage people to work; however, faced with a major cost of living crisis for those on the breadline,there's a real need to complement it with a strategy for sharing. If HM Treasury is not inclined to assist, it should at least set out a plan to encourage those who will. Accompanying music - Bike Sharing to Paradise, by Dan Bodan

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