The coronavirus crisis: A Misdiagnosis?

The coronavirus crisis: A Misdiagnosis?

Looking at the the huge economic consequences So it begins. The emails announcing that this or that restaurant is to close its doors, temporarily they hope, and regretfully, as they let go treasured and valuable staff. A few offer takeaways, in the hope that a diminished service and reduced costs will keep the place alive until better times come. Other venues – museums, for instance – emphasise their digital offering. Yet others hope to keep alive online. But slowly Britain’s…

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Now you can spread bet on Johnson’s daily coronavirus briefing

Now you can spread bet on Johnson’s daily coronavirus briefing

Now from @SportingIndex spread betting on Boris's daily briefing https://t.co/kd6N9wj1NK pic.twitter.com/UHZB5tiqzD — Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) March 18, 2020 The firm says: We appreciate that the situation is a serious one, we’re just trying to look for glimmers of light-heartedness during an otherwise dismal period. We hope you’re all staying as safe as possible and look forward to the not-too-distant future when the sports that we love are back up and running. Assuming this will be a daily fixture it will…

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The rise and rise of Rishi Sunak as seen on the Betfair exchange

The rise and rise of Rishi Sunak as seen on the Betfair exchange

What is really incredible about the Richi Sunak is that barely anybody had heard of him just 6 months ago. Now he is barely off the front pages, one of the key faces of the Johnson government and miles ahead of anybody else in the betting for Johnson’s successor as Conservative leader. Increasingly he is looking like the PM in waiting should something happen to Johnson in the short or long-term. It was in November less than 6 months ago…

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Biden way ahead in tonight’s four big primaries

Biden way ahead in tonight’s four big primaries

Arizona, Florida, Illinois, and Ohio look set to give him big victories When the timetable of primaries for this year’s presidential election came out a lot of people were looking at tonight as being when the race would finally be resolved. That is no longer the case because Joe Biden effectively wrapped up the nomination at the start of the month on Super Tuesday. The big question now is how long is Bernie Sanders gong to stay in the race…

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Budgeting for a crisis

Budgeting for a crisis

It used to be that after a Budget the days and papers would be full of analysis and reactions and, often, the discovery of nasty surprises or other changes backfiring on the government. (Remember Osborne’s “pasty tax” or Hammond’s NI surprise?) Not this year, obviously. The measures introduced in the Budget to help deal with the economic consequences of the coronavirus, however welcome, now seem too little for the scale of the task. In summary (the details are here – in sections…

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