News

Apple Price Fixing

June 2, 2013 • Apple • Price fixing

Apple went on trial this week (02/06/2013) to face charges brought by the US department of justice (DOJ) that, in 2009, it knowingly conspired to fix the prices of eBooks in the US. Last year Apple and five publishers (Macmillan, Penguin, Hachette, Simon & Schuster and the News Corp owned HarperCollins) were brought to book over alleged price-fixing, and while the five publishers have settled, Apple continues to dispute the price-fixing claims. The government is seeking to stop further collusion rather than impose fines for alleged past illegal activities. At the core of the price-fixing is the alleged forcing of...

UK avoids triple dip recession

May 5, 2013 • GDP • Growth

As expected, the UK economy has escaped from a triple-dip recession by the skin of its teeth with a return to positive growth of just 0.3% in the first quarter of 2013, according to provisional estimates released by the ONS today.

Benefits capped

April 15, 2013 • Capped • Welfare benefits

From today, April 15th, a benefit cap of £500 per week for couples and lone parents, and £350 a week for single adults will be introduced in four London boroughs - Croydon, Bromley, Haringey and Enfield. Other local authorities will implement the cap from July 15th, with all authorities introducing the scheme by September. The aim of the cap is to set a maximum welfare payments equivalent of the average weekly wage in the UK. According to the DWP, the cap will limit the personal incomes of some 40,000 households, and save some £110 m, down from initial estimates of...

Budget analysis

March 20, 2013 • 2013 • Budget • George Osborne

With interest rates at an all time low, and with QE having run out of steam, it looks like conventional monetary policy is, as least for now, a dead duck. Low interest rates and quantitative easing were supposed to be sufficient to lift the UK economy out of the doldrums and into growth, increased private investment and rapid job creation - so much for the textbooks.

Quantitative easing

January 23, 2013 • Bank of England • Monetary Policy • Quantitative easing

Minutes of the MPC meeting held on January 9th and 10th were released today (Jan 23rd) and provided clear evidence that MPC members are shying away from further rounds of Quantitative Easing (QE). As the Committee pointed out, the underlying state of the UK economy is harder to gauge that usual given the one-off nature of the Olympic Games and the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. The view was that further asset purchases were unnecessary and may have a very weak effect on stimulating nominal demand.