Since his arrival at the Treasury, John Healey has talked of giving the economy ‘breathing space’ after the hyperactivity of his predecessor’s time in No11.
asserted
Healey → talk → No11
The Rachel Reeves Budget of last November scored 88 policy and tax changes on top of 70 the year before.
asserted
Budget → score → 70
That left businesses, consumers, HMRC, and civil servants responsible for administering changes with fierce policy indigestion.
asserted
That → leave → indigestion
Remarkably, while Europe’s other big economies, Germany, France and Italy, are stagnating, Britain is growing at a 1.3 per cent clip.
asserted
Britain → stagnate → clip
This begs the question of why Prime Minister Andy Burnham is anxious to get closer to the European Union.
asserted
Burnham → beg → Union
Being out of the EU encouraged British firms to broaden horizons and look towards the fast-expanding Pacific Basin and North America.
asserted
Being → encourage → Basin
Chancellor John Healey's Budget is expected to provide more feel-good nudges of the kind we have seen since Burnham arrived at Number 10
Goldman Sachs’ estimate that closer ties to the EU could add 1pc to output looks tempting.
uncertain
ties → expect → output
Economics tells us that trading with your closest neighbours is most efficient.
asserted
trading → tell → neighbours
But as Canada is learning, when your neighbour is unfriendly and as distrustful as Donald Trump’s America, it is time to look elsewhere.
asserted
it → learn → America
Healey’s Budget is intended to allow the country to come up for air.
asserted
country → intend → air
We can expect more feel-good nudges of the kind we have seen since Burnham arrived at No10.
asserted
Burnham → expect → No10
It will be a terrible error if Healey banks the kinder fiscal words from the IMF and Britain’s growth upgrade and opts for former Royal Navy lieutenant James Callaghan’s ‘steady as she goes’ Budget strategy of April 1967.
asserted
she → opt → April
Shocks battered Callaghan’s complacency including the Six-Day War, the closure of the Suez Canal and a dockworkers’ strike.
asserted
Shocks → batter → Canal
The seas became heavy.
asserted
seas → become → ?
Callaghan and his boss Harold Wilson devalued the pound by 14 per cent that November and the Chancellor resigned.
asserted
Chancellor → devalue → cent
Britain’s economy may appear to be doing fine.
uncertain
economy → appear → ?
Saudi Arabia is in near lockdown as it confronts Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
asserted
it → confront → rebels
The White House is in the hands of an unreliable ally, as Ukraine has learned.
asserted
Ukraine → learn → ally
France has fiscal problems that make the UK’s almost bearable.
asserted
UK → have → problems
And Germany’s powerhouse engineering economy is spluttering as China robs its domination of mass car markets.
asserted
China → splutter → markets
Protecting Britain from negative forces ought to be the focus today.
asserted
Protecting → protect → forces
If Healey is to avoid a Callaghan or Truss-style meltdown on currency and bond markets, he should take the opportunity to slash the size of the state.
asserted
he → avoid → state
Relying on the headroom created by Reeves’ baked-in-the-cake tax increases and unidentified spending cuts is not prudent.
asserted
Relying → rely → increases
Banking gains
HSBC finds it hard to please everyone.
asserted
it → find → everyone
Booming profits at Britain’s only mega-bank will doubtless be used by earnings haters as justification for the expected jump in windfall taxes in today’s Budget.
asserted
profits → boom → Budget
Investors were less impressed, hoping for a stronger performance and bigger rewards via share buybacks.
asserted
Investors → hop → buybacks
A 32 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to £7.2billion in the third quarter should have shareholders dancing in the street.
asserted
shareholders → have → street
Yet it was at the lower end of expectations in a rising interest rate world that should strengthen margins.
asserted
that → rise → margins
It is becoming a simpler bank by disposing of marginal enterprises, such as Allianz in Singapore, and becoming more closely focused on its core markets.
asserted
It → become → markets
A higher bank tax doesn’t help and may partly explain the 5.4 share per cent price tumble.
uncertain
tax → help → tumble
Better that HSBC strengthens its capital and builds a war chest for the geopolitical and AI horrors ahead.
asserted
HSBC → strengthen → horrors
The political correctness that comes with it is a perpetual shadow.
asserted
that → come → it
Unilever spared itself further disruption when it spun off its Magnum ice cream brands in Amsterdam in late 2025.
asserted
it → spar → 2025
That failed to dampen the spirits of founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, who reportedly are seeking a separation and new employee-owned structure.
uncertain
who → fail → separation
They should have thought about that when they sold B&J for £245million more than a quarter of a century ago.
asserted
they → think → century
If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission.
uncertain
This → take → commission
These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting.
asserted
they → choose → team
This does not affect our editorial independence.
asserted
This → affect → independence
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