Andy Bruce (Reuters)
@bruceandy
Reuters Journalist of the Year 2025: 'Scoop of the Year' UK economy and north of England correspondent. ☀️ Stockport ☀️ 💬 Signal: bruce.369
It basically measures the value-added generated by UK companies who process food in some way (table is what ONS measures). Origin of food doesn't come into it. Different stages count too - a firm that makes ham & then one that turns the ham into sandwiches. But only the value each firm adds!
You see this a lot - sounds nice - but the question that rarely gets answered well: what is the comparative advantage of an re-expanded British manufacturing base going to be? Unless you can answer that, it's just vibes.
Long forgotten that in 2010 nobody in the City wanted George Osborne as Chancellor. Then he became Chancellor and all of that became moot.
Incoming OBR boss Haskel blames the media for having a fixation on fiscal headroom. Maybe he can explain why gilts would often react sharply to news around borrowing/headroom, or government's decision to adopt a fiscal rule where that is the only pass/fail metric? Is that the media too?
• But... then there's the pre-election Budget 2028. Another opportunity to push back consolidation, and this time into 2031/32. Tear up the spending review and shove the consolidation into that year, which SR 2027 will not cover for current deptl spending.
Eye-poppingly bad number on the UK construction PMI for the civil engineering. What is going on there? Worse than even the lowest point of the GFC
Here's a nice little thing on my bookshelf. My dad bumped into Tom Baker in Waterstones sometime in the mid-90s. He whipped this book straight off the shelf for Baker to sign for me, before purchase. He said something like... "Isn't this illegal? How exciting!"
One area of continuity: lifting every teeny stone of the UK tax code to see what comes up, and none of the big ones
A Scottish bank manager is just what the country needs, apparently. 🙂 Not *quite* sure that is the phrase I would've used. Tell me, who is the best-known Scottish bank manager of the last 20 years? www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/labour...
Why is it unserious? Firstly, the OBR predicts 1.6% growth in 2027 & 2028. Absolutely at the most optimistic end of forecasts. 👇 Perhaps we will be pleasantly surprised!
"After six great years at Savills, I'm launching my own agency" Andy