Strong growth – but heavily reliant on inventories
Figures released today by the Office for National Statistics show that real GDP in the UK increased by 1.2 per cent in the second quarter – slightly better than the 1.1 per cent first estimate.
Green Politics
Telegraph forced to retract lies and smears about climate scientist
The Telegraph story about IPCC chief, Dr Rajendra Pachauri, is the latest to be completely debunked – having been quietly retracted by the newspaper.
Major battle looms over plans to explore for ‘extreme oil’
Following the catastrophic BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a major battle is now looming over fresh plans by oil companies to try and explore for and access so-called ‘extreme oil’.
Clegg slams “partial” IFS – yet in April he was “really delighted” with it
Nick Clegg weighed in to the debate on the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) report into the Budget this afternoon, taking to the airwaves to criticise the report for being “by definition partial” – yet in April, in the final TV leaders’ debate, he cited the IFS for their praising of his party’s general election manifesto.
The “equality landmine” that the Coalition is supposed to back
The Conservative right is becoming increasingly exercised about what they are calling the “landmine” of the government’s equality legislation.
The future, now: Extreme weather forecasts fit scientists’ climate predictions
Millions of people around the world are suffering the effects of extreme weather events – matching up to predictions long made by climate scientists of more frequent and more intense weather events due to global warming.
Hoban dodges fairness question six times
On the Today programme this morning, Treasury minister Mark Hoban failed to answer Justin Webb’s question about the fairness of the Budget six times.
IFS: Osborne’s Budget is “clearly regressive”
The bottom half of the income distribution will be hit more than the top half by the Coalition’s June Budget, new analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies has revealed.
Leading economists question Osborne’s definition of “intergenerational fairness”
George Osborne’s definition of “intergenerational fairness” has been questioned by leading economists. They say, “risk should be shared out across generations”.
Business confidence down most among SMEs
The latest quarterly survey of business confidence from the ICAEW shows business confidence down for the first time since the first quarter of 2009 – the middle of the recession.