Labour figures were out last week and over the weekend pouring scorn on the “excitable” media and opposition politicians for crowing about post-budget bond market turbulence, when 10-year gilt yields almost hit 5%. Not out of the woods yet…
Gilt yield rises have now hit the mortgage markets. On Friday five-year fixed rate mortgages hit a five-month high of 5.3%, counteracting a strong year in mortgage market price competition. That’s a £500-per-year higher price tag for those remortgaging this year. Reeves’ Budget Bombshell, anyone?
Britain now spends more on sickness than on defence with £65 billion splashed on health-related payouts compared to just £57 billion for the military. Not like wars are raging across the Middle East and Ukraine…
The Lords Economic Affairs Committee is demanding action, with Chair Lord George Bridges slamming the system for encouraging welfare over work, calling it “financially unsustainable” and a “waste of human potential.” They reckon getting 400,000 people back to work could save £10 billion. Last week Tony Blair took aim at the surge in self-diagnosed mental health conditions as one in three young workers was signed off with stress last year, and the cost of Personal Independence Payments (PIP) forecast to rocket from £22 billion to £35 billion in just four years—a 60% increase. With Rachel Reeves facing spending cuts in the spring after her budget bombed, slashing this sickness spend should be at the top of her to-do list…
Corbyn and McDonnell were filmed walking out of the police station post-interview yesterday. Jeremy wasn’t feeling talkative…
Deloitte’s much-watched quarterly consumer confidence report doesn’t make happy reading for Reeves on the week she heads to Davos to chum up with the financial and political elite. While Brits are feeling better about debt overall consumer confidence stalled in the final quarter of last year with a -0.2% drop. The first time it has done so since 2022…
Consumers also reported a 4% drop in confidence with regard to household disposable income and a whopping 14% dive in sentiment towards the state of the UK economy. Fingers pointing firmly at the budget…
According to a briefing from a Team Trump official to Fox News the new president will be getting on with it on day one in office. Executive orders abound…
Officials say around 200 executive actions will take place within hours of Trump’s inauguration. Some of those include:
- State of emergency declared on the border, proclamation to close it.
- End immigration “Catch and Release” policy.
- Pause offshore wind leases.
- End electric vehicle mandate.
- Abolish Green New Deal policy set.
- Withdraw from Paris Climate Accord.
- Designate drug cartels as foreign terrorist organisations.
- Re-institute “Remain in Mexico” policy.
- Begin construction of new border wall areas.
- Emergency authority to suspend entry of illegal immigrants along southwest border.
- End restrictive orders on drilling.
- Re-establishment of presidential control over career federal workforce, executive order to extend control over senior government officials.
- Action to return federal staff to in-person work.
- Suspension of DEI hiring practices in federal government.
- Suspension of security clearances for 51 national security officials who “lied” about Hunter Biden’s laptop.
- Department of Government Efficiency “hiring freeze” to be established.
- A presidential memorandum which directs all agencies and departments to remove all federal actions that “increase costs for families and consumers“.
- TikTok 90-day extension.
That is quite the day-one package. Most of what Starmer managed in 100 days was losing Sue Gray…
Speaking at his speech on how to achieve “progressive capitalism” Wes Streeting fired a dig and Andy Burnham:
“Bond markets are not bond villains and fiscal rules matter.”
