There’s a very famous comedy sketch from “At last, the 1948 Show” involving four wealthy Yorkshiremen reminiscing about how tough times were in their youth.
People of a certain age might feel inclined to reel out the “we ‘ad it tough” line after reading a BBC report that the inflation rate is set to “soar” by late 2017 to … 4%.
Call that an inflation rate?
A rate of 4% makes the inflation the nation experienced under Margaret Thatcher seem like the one experienced by Germany's Weimar Republic.
Workers weren’t exactly taking their wheelbarrows to work in the early eighties to carry home their pay packets – with unemployment breaking through the one million barrier, purchasing a wheelbarrow would have been seen as a dangerous extravagance – but it was quite common for people other than City trough-snufflers to be awarded double-digit percentage pay increases in the forlorn hope of keeping up with inflation.
And you tell that to the kids of today …
The Inflation Nation
We’ll get the Bank of England’s inflation report tomorrow, but economic think-tank the National Institute for Economic and Social Research (NIESR) has got in early with its prediction that UK inflation will quadruple to about 4% in the second half of next year, biting into disposable income.
Who or what is to blame?
The National Union of Mineworkers? The Gnomes of Zurich? Leaves on the line?
According to the NIESR, sterling’s plunge is to blame and by implication those who voted in favour of Britain’s exit from the European Union.
People such as Tim Martin, founder and chairman of pubs chain JD Wetherspoon PLC (LON:JDW), whose latest wheeze, possibly aimed at getting publicity for his business, has been to suggest that if European Union officials get too hard line in their negotiations over Brexit then British consumers might respond by boycotting French wine, champagne and spirits; German beer and Swedish cider.
I'm backing Britain
This is all starting to get reminiscent of the “I’m backing Britain” campaign in 1968 started by five secretaries from Surbiton (no, we are not referencing 1960s satirical sketches again) which, not surprisingly, failed to reverse Britain’s industrial decline.
It did spawn a record by Bruce Forsythe, though, and as Brucie is still around we must fervently hope he does not get wind of the words from Wetherspoon’s answer to Donald Trump.
Yes, Tim, of course people are going to give up foreign food and drinks; it’s tripe & onions washed down with Spitfire ale or Dandelion and Burdock for all of us from now on unless the EU gets supine.
Black day for former Blackrock fund manager
On a more serious note, Mark Lytleton, a former Blackrock fund manager, has pleaded guilty to two counts of insider dealing in a London court.
The charges related to dealing in the shares of EnCore Oil back in October 2011, ahead of news about a possible takeover, and some Cairn Energy PLC (LON:CNE) share options deals the following month.
The Bloomberg news agency reports that according to the defendant’s LinkedIn page, he is now a personal coach, mentor and angel investor.