Money

Sanctions are the West’s key weapon in the fight against Putin, but there are signs that Russia’s economy and financial system is weathering the storm better than expected. The rouble has already bounced back and Russia has been able to continue to service its debts, with only minor hiccups. A closer look however reveals that sanctions are biting hard – and that Russia is losing the economic as well as military war. Take the rouble’s resurgence, which is not what it seems. The ability of Russia’s currency to bounce back reflects the fact that Russian imports have fallen by more than the country’s exports, as local consumers and businesses have cut spending. This means there

It’s been a terrible few weeks for that guy you know. Bitcoin dropped to a ten-month low (apparently thanks to something called ‘stablecoins’), while $1 trillion has been wiped off the largest tech companies on the stock markets. ‘Retail investors’ – non-professionals with little more than an internet connection – are struggling. You might expect many of them to put their heads in their hands and log off. But that would be to misunderstand the nihilism of online culture. Losing is the same as winning, only better. The thing to do is to post evidence of your catastrophic losses. It’s called ‘loss porn’ and if you look at the ‘WallStreetBets’ page on

First, the good news: US inflation is down. Now the bad news: US inflation isn’t down by as much as a lot of people were expecting. Cue quite a lot of confusion on the markets. First, the S&P 500 plunged by 0.5 per cent, then it rose by 1 per cent, then it was more or less back to where it started the day. The FTSE100 has performed a similar gyration: first erasing its daily gain and then regaining it, to finish nearly 1.5 per cent up on the day. So, is it positive or negative news that US consumer inflation has fallen from 8.5 per cent in March to

With a sense of reluctance, I went into a voting booth this week and ticked the boxes corresponding to my local Labour candidates. My rationalisation was simple: I wasn’t voting for Labour, but against the Conservatives.  There is a tangible stench of decay surrounding the Tory party at present. At best, it is incapable of maintaining moral standards. Barely a month passes without some MP’s embroilment in a grubby scandal involving sex, money, or both. The party has no vision for the country, no agenda beyond targeting the young to pay for the old. And if you judge them on results, well, there’s even fewer reasons to vote Tory. The Conservatives

The US Federal Reserve yesterday announced its biggest interest rate rise in 22 years. Today, the Bank of England follows suit, raising rates at the fastest pace for a quarter of a century. But the biggest question remains: how successful will these hikes be at tackling inflation? The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee has voted six to three to raise interest rates from 0.75 to one per cent. This incremental 0.25 per cent rise was broadly expected by economists – though there had been speculation in recent weeks that the Committee might move faster, after March’s headline inflation rate hit seven per cent. Notably, Committee members in the minority were calling

The Federal Reserve is playing catch-up. Today’s interest rate hike is only the second rate rise since 2018 – but it’s the first half-point rise in 22 years. As expected, the federal-funds rate – the interest rate banks use to lend to each other on a short-term basis – will rise from a target range of between 0.25 and 0.5 per cent, to a range between 0.75 and 1 per cent. After many months of insisting price hikes would be transitory, with inflation soaring to a 40-year high in the meantime, the Fed is finally acting to curb it. By historical standards, today’s hike keeps interest rates very low –

As the Prime Minister pointed out this morning, looming recession and soaring inflation are not uniquely British problems – though right now the UK economy is slowing faster than many of our rich country competitors. In the US for example, the IMF’s former chief economist Ken Rogoff has warned just today that the Federal Reserve’s official interest rate may have to go as high as five per cent to suppress rampant inflation. Which is one of the reasons I was nonplussed when the PM told Susanna Reid on ITV’s Good Morning Britain that he’s reluctant to increase universal credit and benefits and protect poorer people from the ravages of inflation