Constable Confidential

Tuesday, September 27, 2022

Forbes: British Currency Mess Set To Upend U.K.’s Housing Market

By SIMON CONSTABLE

The United Kingdom’s housing market is likely to screech to a halt.

For that, you can blame Britain’s banks.

Or the government...

Or investors.

Yep, it’s a complicated matter. But some people will find it tricky to buy or sell houses for the immediate future. Read more here.

Derek Harper / Christmas for sale sign, Torquay

Monday, September 26, 2022

Forbes: China’s Economy ‘Dismal,’ Will See No Growth, New Report

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Communist China under premier Xi Jinping is wilting fast.

The economy, already under pressure so far this year, looks to get even worse, according to a recent report from London-based consulting firm Capital Economics.

Capital kicks off with the following blistering assessment of the situation:

“The financial world’s focus on a generational surge in inflation in advanced economies is stealing attention from a generational slowdown in China that is arguably of much greater importance for the long-term global outlook.”

In other words, ignore China’s worsening economic quagmire at your peril. Read more here.

图片来源: 美国之音, Public domain,

via Wikimedia Commons

Forbes: U.K. ‘Mini Budget’ Likely Just Dealt Scotland A Fiscal Time Bomb

By SIMON CONSTABLE

The United Kingdom’s finance chief just dealt an economic blow to Scotland.

It’ll likely be a slow-burn problem for the Scottish National Party, but it could end up being devastating. Read more here.

Kwasi Kwarteng

Office of U.S. Ambassador to U.K.,

Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Thursday, September 22, 2022

Time Magazine: The U.K. Economy Is in Turmoil, But There Are Signs of Hope

By SIMON CONSTABLE

The death of Queen Elizabeth II and the period of national mourning that followed have been the latest blow to Britain’s already struggling economy, but economists and analysts say that there are glimmers of hope.

Britain is at a watershed moment. The country has just completed a 10-day period of mourning, concluding with country-wide shutdowns during a public holiday to mark the late monarch’s funeral. Her death came just two days after a new prime minister, Liz Truss, took office, after the last one was ousted by his own party for unbecoming behavior, while the U.K. faces a cost-of-living crisis unlike anything the nation has seen in decades. Inflation has soared to the highest levels since the 1980s, at around 10%, and the nation faces an energy crisis due to dwindling Russian energy exports to Europe. The British pound has been languishing around a nearly 37-year low against the dollar. And economic growth—the U.K. has now fallen behind India, a former British colony, becoming the world’s sixth largest economy and its central bank, the Bank of England, has warned that it risks falling into a recession that could last well into 2024. Read more here.