U.K.’s central bank, the Bank of England, has ordered eight of the nation’s largest financial institutions to undergo an “extreme” stress test, which will test if they are strong enough to withstand a potential economic shock similar to conditions in the aftermath of World War I.
The heir to the British throne, Prince Charles, should face a Treasury inquiry into the amount of taxes he pay each year, said an influential committee of U.K. MPs on Monday, arguing that some of the tax exemptions that his estate enjoy had created an “unfair advantage” for several of his businesses.
Despite a sharp rise in food inflation, U.K. families are spending 8.5 percent less on food today than what they did before the financial crisis; but the savings had been mostly due to a switch in consumption to cheaper, less healthy choices, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) on Monday.
The IFS’s research found that food prices rose by 33 percent between 2007 and 2013; yet somehow the average household food expenditure fell to just $148.61 a month from 2010-2012, compared to $162.46 in the two years earlier.
Senior bankers at top U.K. financial institutions could be fired, or even sent to jail for up to seven years, if theirs bank fails to meet new stress test requirements proposed by the Bank of England on Tuesday, according to a report by The Telegraph.
The British Pound (GBP) is rallying back toward its highest levels in nearly eight months versus the Dollar (USD), as the September retail sales report showed evidence of strengthening consumer activity in Europe’s third largest economy. This is an important development, mostly because markets are in flux with respect to UK interest rate expectations. Last week, we saw the release of the September meeting minutes from the Bank of England, which showed that members voted unanimously to suspend additional stimulus injections on signs of continued recovery.
Can governments influence the decisions and actions of their citizens without the public’s conscious knowledge? Since 2010, the U.K. government has had a taskforce, nicknamed the “Nudge Unit”, which utilises behavioural economics to come up with policies that can “encourage and enable people to make better choices for themselves.”
The United Kingdom is made up of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It has the fifth largest national economy—measured by nominal GDP—in the world, and the second largest in Europe. In 2013, the United Kingdom (UK) was the world’s fourth largest exporter and importer. Many economists rank the UK as one of the most globalized economies. London has the largest city GDP in Europe.
The UK is the 7th leading importer and the 12th leading exporter in the world. Accordingly, the UK holds a massive trade deficit with the rest of the world, second only to the US. In 2012, UK imports were worth $646 billion with exports valued at only $481 billion.
During the heyday of the British Empire, the UK was the largest and most influential economy in the world. As the birthplace of the industrial revolution, the UK was at the forefront of technological advances during the 18th to 19th century.
Historically, the UK has been one of greatest economic influencers in the world. As the epicentre of the first Industrial Revolution during the 18th century, the UK ushered in what economic historians agree to be the most significant event in mankind’s history since the dawn of agriculture.
