Economy

In proposing to sell the government’s £5 billion hoard of Bitcoin – accumulated from confiscating the proceeds of crime – Rachel Reeves has earned some keen supporters. But the Chancellor should resist the temptation. It wouldn’t be an error quite on the scale of Gordon Brown’s sale of half of Britain’s gold reserves in 1999 – that occurred right at the bottom of a bear market in gold, while Bitcoin in recent weeks has been trading at record highs. Nevertheless, Reeves would be missing out on the opportunity to build a Strategic Crypto Reserve which could turn out to be many times more valuable in the future. By backing cryptocurrencies rather than disposing

Britain is continuing to chuck billions onto our mounting pile of debt. Figures just released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that last month the state had to borrow just under £21 billion. That was £6.6 billion more than in June last year and the second-highest June borrowing total since records began 32 years ago. The ONS confirmed the surge in borrowing was a continuation of the fiscal doom loop this country now finds itself in. ‘The rising costs of providing public services and a jump in the debt interest we have to pay on inflation-linked gilts outweighed increased revenue brought in from tax hikes. Interest due on our debt

This weekend, the Sunday Telegraph reported that Rachel Reeves is eyeing a ‘£5 billion bitcoin sale’ to ease the pressure on the public finances. Some commentators have grasped the wrong end of the stick here – these sales could not be used to fill a ‘black hole’ under the current fiscal rules. Others have argued that it would be foolish to dump cryptoassets that may still increase significantly in value. Unfavourable comparisons are inevitably being drawn with Gordon Brown’s sale of gold reserves starting in 1999. But that may be wide of the mark too. So, what to make of all this? Unlike true ‘safe havens’, the price of bitcoin tends to

Deep fried prawn balls, chicken chow mein, crispy shredded beef and a Ponzi scheme could be about to win the Chancellor a decent chunk of her headroom back. If Reeves does press ‘sell’, she will be accused of ‘pulling a Gordon Brown’ As Rachel Reeves starts sketching out her autumn Budget, most of the focus has been on the tax hikes she’ll need if she’s serious about sticking to the ‘ironclad’ fiscal rules she recommitted to just last week. Economists reckon the wafer-thin £9.9 billion margin she left herself at the Spring Statement has already been wiped out and that she’s now staring down a black hole of over £20

This week the British government introduced subsidies for electric vehicles (EVs). But as they have failed to first adopt sensible trade defence measures, this risks Chinese EVs flooding the UK, bringing job losses and data security risks in their wake. Rather than following the example of the US and the European Union, which have adopted tariffs against Chinese EVs to protect automotive jobs, the UK will roll out subsidies for EVs. Each vehicle that qualifies as having a low enough level of carbon emissions in its production will be granted a subsidy of either £1,500 or £3,750. Ministers have so far refused to publish a list of manufacturers who will be eligible,

Unemployment has hit 4.7 per cent – its highest level for four years after the Chancellor’s taxes on business caused jobs to slump. The figures, published this morning by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), also show payroll jobs down by 178,000 in the 12 months to June and by 41,000 between May and June. The line that Rachel Reeves’ decision – namely her £25 billion employer national insurance tax raid – is hampering the job market is becoming a strong one. Andrew Griffith, shadow business secretary, said: ‘Unemployment is the only thing growing under Labour.’ As Reeves weighs up tax rises likely to fall heavily on businesses to plug

When the history of the next election comes to be written, we may end up asking: was the turning point for its outcome the moment that Keir Starmer’s government backtracked on its welfare reforms in the face of a backbench revolt? The fiasco, which eliminated the government’s hopes of saving £5 billion a year, has made any welfare reform during the current Parliament impossible.   Britain has become the benefits office of the world The cost of that is becoming more evident by the day. Figures revealed this morning show that there are currently 3.6 million people receiving Universal Credit who are under no obligation whatsoever to look for work. They

Rachel Reeves wants Britain to become a shareholder democracy. In her annual Mansion House speech to the City’s bankers, accountants and financial advisors, she said ‘for too long, we have presented investment in too negative a light’. She’s right. These changes are unlikely to unleash the ‘big bang’ of prosperity and tax revenues the Chancellor badly wants and badly needs The Chancellor meant that regulation – which she called the ‘boot on the neck of business’ – has led to too many scary warnings about the risks of investing and not enough talking up of the benefits. She’s referring to the legally mandated ‘investment carries risk’ type messages you hear