In other words, there are no good reasons for bank deposits to be rewarded as they are, except that it very much suits some in society that they should be, and the Bank of England is intent on rewarding them. The only reason banks take deposits is because regulation demands banks take deposits. This then gives to the obvious question as to why we now need to move to a situation not known for most of the last 15 or so years in the UK, where we might have positive real interest rates in this country i.e. the rates payable to depositors of funds might exceed the inflation rate that otherwise r ..read more

High levels of immigration are fuelling Britain’s housing crisis, according to the Bank of England’s chief economist, who blamed skyrocketing rents on a shortage of properties. Huw Pill said higher interest rates were not responsible for record hikes in rental costs, which jumped by 9.2pc in the year to March. He said “quite large increases in immigration” were piling more pressure on Britain’s housing stock, after net migration hit a record-breaking 745,000 in 2022. The idea that it’s interest rates is crazed – Spud believes it, so, obviously – for an increase in costs does not, in fact, me ..read more

Dominic Cummings has unveiled plans for a new “Start-Up Party” which he claims could replace the Conservatives. Speaking to the i paper in his first interview since leaving Downing Street in 2020, Boris Johnson’s former chief adviser said the new party could capitalise on the expected collapse in the Tory vote at the next general election. The Vote Leave mastermind claimed a majority of the electorate would support a party that is “completely different” to Labour and the Tories. Have a go, by all means, but it won’t work. If you start now you might get somewhere in 2035…. The post Well, no ..read more

What are you doing? You’re saying to the bank by tapping your credit card on a credit payment machine that you would like to have an extra loan, which you promise to repay to the bank. The bank knows you because it’s done credit checks on you and says, “yes, okay, we believe that you will repay us. Therefore, we’ll let you have this money to make this payment now, to the person to whom you want payment to be made.” It’s your promise to the bank to repay, matched by their promise to make payment to the person you’ve asked them to make settlement to that creates money. Literally, your exchanges ..read more

Gruesome new testimony details one of the worst atrocities of the year-long Sudanese civil war – the large-scale massacre of civilians as they desperately tried to flee an ethnic rampage in Darfur last summer. Witnesses describe children, still alive, being “piled up and shot” by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as they attempted to escape the regional capital of El Geneina in June last year during a bout of ethnic violence in which thousands of civilians were killed. Together, the 221 witness statements collated by Human Rights Watch offer the latest evidence that the Arab-led RSF ..read more

Pioneering nuclear fusion power plants are to be fast tracked through the planning process and supported with taxpayer money as Britain attempts to become a world leader in the technology. Under new proposals by the Government, commercial fusion reactors will be exempt from the usual planning rules governing nuclear power stations. One of the major changes will be to class nuclear fusion reactors as nationally significant infrastructure projects, with ministers deciding if they should go ahead and preventing local authorities from scrutinising them. It means companies planning fusion reactors ..read more

Eating ultra-processed meat is linked to an increased risk of early death, a Harvard study over 30 years has found. Scientists tracked more than 114,000 adults in one of the most extensive studies into the long-term consequences of modern diets. So, ban UPF and all that. Except, the bit that surprises: “The study showed a modest association with high UPF consumption on the outcome category ‘All deaths’ which were 4 per cent higher in the high UPF group.” However, Prof Sir David Spiegelhalter, Emeritus Professor of Statistics, University of Cambridge, said such an association was “weak”. He ..read more

However, Adrian Darbishire KC, for Ms Grey, said in the appeal: “Hostile gesticulation is not a crime, otherwise we would have 50,000 football fans each weekend being apprehended.” Tho’ a slight correction M’Lud. 50,000 fans at each stadium each weekend. Echoes of the “Mere vulgar abuse” clause in libel. “Lord A is a vile fuckwit” is not a libel because it’s mere abuse. “Lord A sells credit cards for tax evasion” is a libel. The post Ah, so there’s still some sense left in the system first appeared on Tim Worstall ..read more

Neoliberal: Someone who thinks markets are the correct answer more often than you do. The post Definitions first appeared on Tim Worstall ..read more

Saying so, they note the chilling effect of the Bank of England and its policy of quantitative tightening on the economy. Not only is this intended to keep interest rates well above their natural rate by oversupplying the market with gilts, which keeps their price artificially low, keeping the interest rate paid on them high, but it also has another effect. What? QE was the intervention. To deliberately, specifically, lower long term interest rates (and thus push yield seeking investors out along the risk curve). QT is the reversal of this process, returning interest rates to their natural l ..read more