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Edmund Conway

The High Street's Most Miserable Christmas

So now it’s official. Leaving aside the big freeze in late 2010, this was the worst Christmas for British retailers for more than a decade. If the collapse of a series of high street retailers wasn’t evidence enough, now we have the verdict from the Office for National

The real state of Britain's trade relationship with Europe

There’s a common misconception that Britain is disproportionately reliant on Europe as a market for its exports. And although the EU is certainly an important destination for UK products, it doesn’t (as some like to claim) receive the majority of UK exports. Like most economic misconceptions it’s

What really did for HMV

There’s a pretty simple explanation for the miserable fate of high street stores like HMV, Jessops and Comet, and it came in today’s inflation figures [http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/cpi/consumer-price-indices/december-2012/index.html] . The price of the kinds of goods those shops sell – everything

The real state of Britain's housing market

According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the housing market is recovering, and is now at its healthiest since 2010. So it feels like an appropriate time to examine how house prices have fared since the start of the crisis. Here, to start with, are how UK house prices

Sir Mervyn vs Goldman Sachs

Sir Mervyn King to the Treasury Select Committee on reports Goldman Sachs planning to delay payment of bonuses this year until the 50% tax rate is removed in April: I find it a bit depressing that people who earn so much find it would be even more exciting to adjust

How RPI became Britain's Club Class inflation rate

What, when it it really comes down to it, is RPI for? The retail price index used to be Britain’s main index of inflation – the one used for most pay settlements, for determining the increases in benefits and pensions – the one targeted by the Bank of England (well, an

RPI: a Bedtime Story

The Office for National Statistics has just decided against modernising the way it calculates the Retail Price Index. It’s a not uncomplicated issue, so perhaps best to listen in on a father-son bedtime explanation. Q: Daddy, what’s inflation? A: Well Johnny, it’s very simple. It’s a