Anne Marie Waters Tuesday October 20th 2020 The world economy is moving fast and it isn’t easy to keep up. Last week I gave you some detail on the latest scheme offered by the Chancellor to help those out of work as a result of these increasingly absurd COVID-19 government restrictions. (I will return…
Anne Marie Waters Tuesday 13th October 2020 I’ll return to my series of reviews of Thomas Sowell’s Economic Facts and Fallacies in the coming weeks, but for now, Rishi Sunak has announced his latest plans for the economy. It will involve a lot more spending, and a lot more uncertainty as to where that…
Anne Marie Waters Tuesday October 6th 2020 In recent weeks, I’ve been covering the work and ideas of American economist Thomas Sowell by reviewing his book Economic Facts and Fallacies. I will continue this review in the coming weeks, but for now, a look at the current economic situation in Britain is warranted. Once…
Anne Marie Waters September 29th 2020 In this series of blogs, I’m looking at some of the ideas of the American economist Thomas Sowell, and specifically his book Economic Facts and Fallacies. You can read parts one and two here. This week’s topic is highly topical and Sowell puts forward the most fascinating arguments…
Anne Marie Waters September 22nd 2020 In the first of this blog series (you can read part one here) I looked at the concept of fallacy as put forward by noted economist Thomas Sowell in his book ‘Economic Facts and Fallacies’. In part one, I described Sowell’s definition of the word ‘fallacy’, which he…
Anne Marie Waters Tuesday September 1st 2020 You may be familiar with Thomas Sowell, the American economist. If not, I recommend his work. He grew up in Harlem and is now a senior fellow at America’s prestigious Stanford University. Sowell is not your average “PC” academic, he’s willing to put forward the sensible view…
Anne Marie Waters Tuesday August 11th 2020 It feels as though this column only ever features bad news, but that is hardly surprising given the times we are in. Those times are tough and getting tougher. It’s worth a quick recap to remind ourselves where we are. It began in mid March, just about…
Anne Marie Waters Tuesday July 21st 2020 I say the state of the economy today is unknown because it felt like the only appropriate word (other than “terrifying” which probably wouldn’t help the situation!) The government’s furlough scheme will soon end, and then UK business will need to stand on its own feet again…
Anne Marie Waters Tuesday July 7th 2020 It’s back! Our economy has now pretty much re-opened, so how is it going? The short answer is: mixed (again). The re-opening of pubs and restaurants (and others) on July 4th did not deliver the economic boost that was hoped. High street footfall for that weekend was…
Anne Marie Waters June 30th 2020 The coronavirus pandemic has brought quite a lot of change to our world, and that’s putting it rather mildly. On my livestream last night, I read about what we can and cannot do at a wedding in the UK in 2020. The government has issued a set of…
Anne Marie Waters Tuesday 23rd June 2020 So, we’ve got the first week of post-lockdown high street trading under our belt, but how did it go? A mixed bag. The economy is gaining momentum, according to the Telegraph, and we’ve had “a record surge in activity”. Manufacturers led the biggest growth spurt since 1998…
Anne Marie Waters Tuesday 16th June 2020 Queues wound through organised blocks yesterday as Britain’s retailers re-opened, and we got an idea of the changes we’ll see on the high street the post-coronavirus crisis. After reading through the rules in place, I’m sure I won’t be the only one who isn’t looking forward to…
Anne Marie Waters Tuesday 9th June 2020 The news doesn’t get much better. The coronavirus crisis carries on and on, our economy gets weaker and weaker, and the pinch is now beginning to bite. Among job losses now being announced as a result of the virus are from BP. The oil giant has announced…
Anne Marie Waters Tuesday 2nd June 2020 On the 15th of June, some shops in Britain will re-open, but we’re not quite clear yet how this will work. Will we be required to wear masks? Will there be a limit as to numbers inside the shop at any given time? What we do know…
Anne Marie Waters Tuesday May 26th 2020 Former BBC ‘Dragon’ Theo Paphitis has declared that “retail will never ever be the same again” when economic life begins to stagger back to normality. The coronavirus lockdown has closed all shops except those selling food and medicine, and it has been this way for more than…
Anne Marie Waters Tuesday May 19th 2020 Last week, in my economic blog, I discussed debt and with it, the power of banks. Debt has exploded over the last few decades, as banks create new money and extend loans at unprecedented levels. This does make the economy move, and many businesses would never have…
Anne Marie Waters Tuesday May 12th 2020 If you’re a book lover, like me, there will be books in your life that fundamentally change the way you view the world. I have recently read (and am re-reading) just such a book. ‘Grip of Death – A Study of Modern Money, Debt Slavery, and Destructive…
Anne Marie Waters Tuesday May 5th 2020 Almost a quarter of the UK’s workforce is currently funded by the Government. Figures show that 6.3 million people are now paid through the government’s job retention scheme that funds 80% (or £2,500) of workers’ wages. This amounts to 23% of the workforce. In addition to this,…