You might not have realised it, but ‘over the past four decades, wealth has soared across Britain’. And the sudden and big jump in interest rates in the past few months will have long-term effects, £2tn-worth, it’s thought. Interestingly, it’s thought that the next generation will benefit, as returns from investments will increase (yes, really) and house prices will fall. It may comfort some that the ‘losers’, apart from those who already have mortgages, are likely to be those at the ‘top’ end, running private equity funds, who borrowed cheap and bought companies at discounts which may not have been as big as they seemed. Not necessarily good news if they pull out and leave those companies and their employees in the lurch, or at best worse off than they might have hoped. However, I doubt those at that ’top’ end are worried about losing their house. Or even one of their houses.
“UK slips into recession as economy contracts 0.1% in December”
This week’s big economic and bad election news is that we are, or certainly have been, officially in a recession. You may not have thought you were, or you may have thought you have been for some time, as we and its effects are all different.
