The billions lost by Gordon Brown’s decision to sell Britain’s gold reserves are mounting as gold prices have increased tenfold since that debacle. Gold touched $3,000 for the first time ever on Friday and has sat at around the same level since, peaking at $3,004.86 on Friday and $3,001.63 today. Would be nice to have some in reserve…
Guido got out his fag packet to do some maths. Gordon Brown sold 12,712,000 ounces of gold for revenue of $3,500,588,920. That would today be worth $38,197,780,320. That’s a difference of $34,697,191,400. Exchanged to pounds that’s lost revenue potential of £27,168,547,397. Could fill a black hole or two…
Guido has long highlighted Brown’s stupidity in selling off the Bank of England’s gold reserves at their then level (Brown’s bottom) – the former Chancellor’s reverse Midas touch in action. FT economist and Guido’s old sparring partner on the Brown sell-off Alan Beattie has kept mysteriously quiet…
The Bank of England’s new economic forecast, which accompanies its rate decision, is not happy reading for Reeves. Growth in 2025 is now predicted to crawl upwards at a snail’s pace…
Staff at the BoE now say the economy will grow by only 0.75% in 2025, half of its last forecast from just three months ago in November. In its rate cut explanation the Bank adds:
“GDP growth has been weaker than expected at the time of the November Monetary Policy Report, and indicators of business and consumer confidence have declined. GDP growth is expected to pick up from the middle of this year… Productivity growth has been weaker than previously estimated, and the Committee judges that growth in the supply capacity of the economy has weakened. As a result, the recent slowdown in demand is judged to have led to only a small margin of slack opening up.”
In response Downing Streets says: “Growth is the priority of the Government, we are focused on taking the necessary decisions for growth.” At the same time the BoE predicts headline inflation to rise to a higher-than-expected 3.7% later in the year. Doesn’t look the the Budget is passing Starmer’s ‘growth test’ after all…
The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England has cut interest rates to 4.5%. The third cut since last Summer…
Last month they were held at 4.75% following a cut from 5%. The markets had it at almost complete certainty that a cut was inbound…
The MPC voted 7-2 for a cut. Two members voted for half a point cut…
Last month they were cut from 5%. After inflation rose to 2.6%, above target, the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee has decided to hold rates there. As widely expected by markets…
The Bank says the MPC “voted by a majority of 6–3 to maintain Bank Rate at 4.75%. Three members preferred to reduce Bank Rate by 0.25 percentage points, to 4.5%.” Doveish enough…
The next decision will be on 6th February in the New Year. The Bank’s bulletin adds that “most indicators of UK near-term activity have declined. Bank staff expect GDP growth to have been weaker at the end of the year than projected in the November Monetary Policy Report.” Merry Christmas from Ms. Reeves…
The Bank of England’s long-running Decision Maker Panel has released its latest responses just now. 2,255 Chief Financial Officers from small, medium and large UK businesses have reported on various indicators – including this time on the impact of Reeves’ Budget. It paints a picture…
- 59% of firms expect to lower profit margins.
- 54% expect to raise prices.
- 54% expect lower employment.
- 38% expect to pay lower wages than they otherwise would have done.
No Labour politician has repeated Reeves’ promise of last week not to raise taxes again when prompted, including the Chancellor. Gulp…
Reeves is due this afternoon to sit down for questions in a “fireside chat” at the CBI annual conference. The Chancellor is under significant pressure over her career history after Guido exposed her LinkedIn CV edits…
Reeves no longer claims she was an economist at HBOS after Guido revealed her real position was in administrative complaints. Hacks have also seized on Reeves’ six years at the Bank of England, pointing to a tweet from 2012 in which she describes herself as a ‘very junior Japan analyst’ in her first years at the bank. Guido can reveal that Reeves wasn’t even described as an actual “Economist” two years into the job…
In February of 2002 Rachel wrote in favour of a pro-Comprehensive School campaign by the Campaign for State Education. The following blurb introduced her:
“Rachel Reeves is a 23-year-old trainee economist at the Bank of England. She attended Cator Park School, Beckenham from 1990- 1997 and New College Oxford from 1997-2000.”
Reeves was two years into her job at the Bank of England at this point and was soon to depart to Washington to work away from the Bank in the British Embassy. On her return, she spent a year out at LSE to complete a masters, which she received in 2004. Within another year she would be selected as Labour candidate for Bromley and Chislehurst and barred from working at the BoE for months. Their rules state employees are “required to take unpaid leave from the point of adoption as a prospective candidate until the election.” The same thing occurred when she stood in the by-election the next year. Even as a trainee two years into the job Reeves was pitching in to political campaigns – was working as an actual economist too boring for her?
Boris spoke to GB News about Labour’s attempts to restrict donations:
“It looks absolutely pathetic. Just because some people want to support one party very generously, Labour kicks up a huge fuss and says they’re going to cap donations.
I just saw Richard Tice on your show just now. I have to say I rather agree with him.
They’ve got huge amounts of money – troughing it from the trade unions. It’s absolutely ridiculous Labour are trying to cap donations.”
