Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member Adam Posen made a very interesting speech yesterday comparing the US and UK recoveries. Its well worth a read, or at the very least a quick look at the charts at the back.

Some of these charts are rather striking the UK recovery has been an awful lot weaker:

And this has manifested itself in both investment:

And in consumption:

What explains this widely different economic performances?

Equally critical to investment and to stockbuilding as sources of the US relative growth advantage, however, was the underlying growth that drove them.

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Many forecourts across the UK have queues, and shortages are starting. Ive already scootered past one “sold out of diesel” sign. While the potential truckers strike was the catalyst, thats no longer the problem. The issue is the resultant panic. Its a classic prisoners dilemma. The concern is if you dont act and everyone else does, its worse for you.

The prisoners dilemma

This is a classic part of game theory.

“Two men are arrested, but the police do not possess enough information for a conviction.

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House prices suffered their sharpest monthly fall in more than two years in March, as first-time homebuyers braced for the removal of stamp duty exemption, mortgage lender Nationwide said on Thursday.

Nationwide reported a 1.0 percent seasonally adjusted fall in house prices on the month, the biggest since February 2010, and a sharp contrast to the 0.3 percent rise predicted in a Reuters poll of economists and February’s 0.4 percent increase.

An exemption from stamp duty land tax for first-time buyers of properties costing under 250,000 pounds expired on March 24.

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If you are a business minded person and are thinking of making more money by buying more houses, then commercial mortgages are for you. This is because they are meant for commercial purposes and are given in huge amounts. All you have to do is look for a broker who will give you a mortgage a lower cost. Then make or have negotiations on the mode and duration for repaying the mortgage. Once you have settled to a fixed point, it is always wise to be sure of the terms and conditions that the broker will lay at the table on you in case you are unable to pay for the mortgage.

When you go to a commercial mortgage officer, he first prepares all the necessary documents required for your application. Once this is done, he checks as to whether you are liable to getting such a loan. Read all post…

There are two key considerations when distributing equity: 1) Establishing the appropriate funding alternatives for the firm. 2) The implementation of mechanisms to ensure affordability among individual owners.

The likelihood of current and future events will often dictate the nature of the most appropriate combination of funding alternatives for the firm. Although there is no one-size-fits-all remedy for every firm, there is a right answer for your specific situation that is based on the events that you and your firm are experiencing.

One situation that, at some point, is likely to be encountered by most firms is the untimely departure of an existing owner due to termination or some catastrophic event.

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The fairground noise of pre-Budget publicity has masked a number of shifts in the greenest government ever. Like announcements slipped out over the weekend about new long-term support for fossil fuel power stations. So here are 5 green markers for today’s Budget:

• No more anti-green rhetoric.
• Boost support for renewable power industries.
• Put the £billions in new green taxes to create jobs.
• Recommit support for 4 carbon capture projects.
• Tackle our rising carbon emissions.

Second, boost support for investment in renewable energy. We haven’t got the balance right between renewables and fossil fuels. Fossil fuels received a subsidy of £3.63bn in 2010, according to a new OECD study, compared with £1.4bn for renewables. Gas, which

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PIP breast implant refunds via credit card companies – will it work for everyone?

Theres big news today that a woman got a refund off Lloyds TSB for her PIP breast implants which had burst. This happened as shed paid on a credit card and the purchase cost over £100, meaning under Section 75 law the card company is jointly liable for anything going wrong with the product.