Swen Lorenz

The Markets UK public finances improved in February as higher tax receipts lessened the need for government borrowing. Self assessed tax receipts were more than £2.4 billion higher than last February and new borrowing dropped by £3.5 billion to £6.9 billion. This means that the Government looks to be on course to meet it’s borrowing…

Economic analysis by Filipe R. Costa Britain woke up today with its skies darkened by the first big solar eclipse in 16 years. So much time has elapsed since the last one that taking a few minutes to watch the rare event is a must. But to maximise amusement one should be closer to the…

Good news (apparently) from the Chancellor George Osborne, over and above his new “Antonio Banderas” hairdo. In fact, for cynics such as myself, the new follicular look was actually more bold than the “bold and immediate” action he announced to save the North Sea Oil & Gas explorers. They must be hurting in a most…

The Markets Seven weeks until the general election and Liberal Democrat & Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander unveiled an alternative to yesterday’s Budget. While the Budget was jointly agreed by the Coalition government parties, Alexander told MPs that his party would not cut as much as the Conservatives or borrow as much as…

By Robert Sutherland Smith Sainsbury’s trading statement for the fourth quarter of last year is fairly brief. In consequence, it does not provide much on which to base conclusions about the future – which appears to be bearish in the eyes of those executing the high level of short selling of Sainsbury shares.  Company sales…

Like anyone with a degree of pragmatism, I usually wait until the financial press have gathered all the data of the Budget before taking a view on what it has actually served up. Indeed, the usual situation is that unless you are a masochistic drinker or driver, it is best to avoid the whole event.…

The Markets In what may potentially be his final Budget Chancellor George Osborne delivered a generally well received set of tax changes and a raft of boosts for investors. Highlights of the speech included a further relaxation of pension rules from April next year, which will allow up to five million pensioners to swap their…

I have to admit that when it comes to the actions and behaviour of central banks in today’s global financial markets, I do take a somewhat sadistic pleasure from the sidelines. This is because we really are normally looking at a case of the tail wagging the dog. To think that they can really wield…