Faisal Islam
Labour’s ‘double-flip’ as election phoney war begins
Labour is claiming the Tories would endanger the public sector, while squirreling away a £34 billion fiscal expansion, blogs economics editor Faisal Islam.
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Gary Gibbon
And a very frugal Christmas from guess who?
So who would send a Christmas card without enough postage, asks political editor Gary Gibbon.
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Faisal Islam
AAA rating safe for now but is there a trap for the Tories?
Alistair Darling’s pre-budget-report: there are some remarkable facts in the maths, blogs economics correspondent Faisal Islam for Channel 4 News.
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Faisal Islam
So what did the pre-budget report mean?
Faisal Islam tweets his reaction to the Chancellor’s pre-budget report.
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Jon Snow
Time to call a halt to ratings agencies?
What a strange world we live in. The economics team I work with – Faisal and his backroom wizard, Neil Macdonald, tell me, and you, that today’s UK pre-budget report will stand or fall on the whims of a handful of economists across the world. Not any old economist but largely those who work for…
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Faisal Islam
UK tests the limits of its AAA credit rating
On the eve of the chancellor’s pre-budget report, the three main credit ratings agencies are raising concerns about the UK’s AAA status, blogs Faisal Islam.
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Gary Gibbon
Straightforward approach through raid on bankers’ bonuses
I get the impression that going after bankers’ bonuses through national insurance is not the option the Treasury is going for in the PBR. The approach will be a more straightforward though unprecedented raid on one group of workers – employees of banks trading in the UK who get chunky bonuses.
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Gary Gibbon
Pre-Budget Report: Darling’s alternative Christmas bonus
Pre-Budget report: it will not be a windfall on the banks but some sort of tax hit directly on the bankers’ bonuses, blogs Gary Gibbon for Channel 4 News.
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Gary Gibbon
Darling: Lloyds’ directors knew about secret loans
The Chancellor’s statement to the Commons has calmed down the secret bank loans story, although Alistair Darling was summoned to speak by an increasingly active Speaker.
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Gary Gibbon
Darling to speak on bonuses and the City
Alistair Darling will today tell the conference here that he’s going to talk to the bankers and tell them to restrain themselves this Christmas.
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Faisal Islam
Darling’s speech: populism meets old fashioned politics
Populism does not come more de-robed than what we will get on bankers from Labour’s pre-election conference. It starts today with the Chancellors speech. There will be an elaboration of the bank bashing theme.
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Gary Gibbon
At the TUC: Brown finally speaks of cuts
Brown speaks of ‘cuts’ at the TUC; a small demo greets the opening of the Prime Minister’s speech.
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Gary Gibbon
Cameron’s cutting talk will grab headlines from the government
David Cameron announces cuts in ministerial salaries, ministerial cars and MPs’ perks, on a day when the Chancellor is giving a less eye-catching speech on public spending.
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Gary Gibbon
Brown, Darling, and public spending cuts
There will be more tomorrow from Alistair Darling on the government’s plans to outline cuts in public services, in the James Callaghan lecture in Cardiff. The Chancellor wanted to go further on balancing the books than No. 10 allowed him to at the Pre-Budget Report last autumn. Now he feels – after some lengthy conversations…
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Faisal Islam
King is speaking to Osborne as well as Darling
Post-meltdown Mansion House was always going to be a little different from the traditional orgy of self-congratulation, backslapping, and an ever lighter regulatory touch. But in the end the bruising speech came from the governor of the Bank of England rather than the chancellor of the exchequer.