Skip to Content

Posts with tag PublicDeficit

Better-than-expected public finances give Darling room for pre-election sweeteners

by Julia Kollewe Mar 18th 2010 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Taxes, Budgeting & Planning

A better-than-expected outturn in the public finances in February has given Alistair Darling more wriggle room for some pre-election sweeteners in next week's budget.

Although the Treasury needed to borrow £12.4 billion to balance the books last month - the biggest February deficit on record - the gap was smaller than the City had feared. Also, January wasn't as bad as previously thought - the deficit was revised lower from £4.3 billion to just £43 million.


Tags: alistair darling, AlistairDarling, budget, fiscal squeeze, FiscalSqueeze, giveaways, pre-election sweeteners, Pre-electionSweeteners, public deficit, public finances, PublicDeficit, PublicFinances

Continue reading Better-than-expected public finances give Darling room for pre-election sweeteners

  • Comments (0)

Public finances slump to first January deficit on record

by Julia Kollewe Feb 18th 2010 at 9:00AM

Filed under: Financial Crisis, Taxes

More bad news for Gordon Brown's government. The public finances recorded their first January deficit on record after government spending surged while tax receipts dropped sharply.

City economists described the figures as "truly dreadful". There are some worries that the UK could go the same way as Greece. This seems somewhat unlikely, but credit rating agencies have already warned that the UK's triple-A rating could be in danger if it doesn't sort it out its fiscal problems soon.


Tags: alistair darling, AlistairDarling, capital gains tax, CapitalGainsTax, income tax, IncomeTax, public deficit, public finances, PublicDeficit, PublicFinances, tax receipts, TaxReceipts

Continue reading Public finances slump to first January deficit on record

  • Comments (0)

Britain finally exits recession, but only just

by Julia Kollewe Jan 26th 2010 at 6:00AM

Filed under: Financial Crisis

Britain finally emerged from recession at the end of last year, but only just.

It ended with a whimper, not a bang.The economy only managed growth of 0.1% in the fourth quarter, disappointing all those who had hoped for a decisive return to growth. The number took City economists by surprise who had forecast 0.4%.

It was the longest recession in Britain's history, lasting a year and a half, and now it is officially over. Britain is the last of the major economies to come out of recession.

But this doesn't mean it's plain sailing from now on. Recovery is going to take years and no one is ruling out a double dip where the economy tips back into recession after a few months of lacklustre growth.


Tags: bank of england, BankOfEngland, britain, consumer debt, ConsumerDebt, david blanchflower, DavidBlanchflower, double dip, DoubleDip, growth, inflation, public deficit, PublicDeficit, recession, spending cuts, SpendingCuts, tax rises, TaxRises, unemployment

Continue reading Britain finally exits recession, but only just

  • Comments (1)

December retail sales a washout, with poor discounts for shoppers

by Julia Kollewe Jan 22nd 2010 at 7:00AM

Filed under: Financial Crisis, Christmas

Retail sales were a washout last month, because shops kept their prices high. So retailers actually had quite a good Christmas, with higher prices sending the shop tills ringing. But it was bad news for shoppers.

By contrast, last Christmas, at the height of the recession, many retailers panicked and brought their sales forward. There was much less discounting this time round as the feeling was that the economy is over the worst.


Tags: bank of england, BankOfEngland, Christmas sales, ChristmasSales, discounts, kesa, morrisons, plan B, PlanB, prices, public deficit, PublicDeficit, recession, retail sales, retailers, RetailSales, sainsburys, shop tills, shoppers, shops, ShopTills, spending cuts, SpendingCuts, tax hikes, TaxHikes, tesco, VAT

Continue reading December retail sales a washout, with poor discounts for shoppers

  • Comments (4)