UK employment falls as public-sector wages continue to surge Today the focus remains on my home country the UK and we can open with a link to out subject matter of yesterday. The UK unemployment rate for people aged 16 years and over was estimated at 5.2% in October to December 2025. This is up in…

The UK youth unemployment rate (18-24) has risen from 13.7% to 14% this morning.

The UK is also seeing quite a surge in public-sector pay. "Annual average regular earnings growth was 7.2% for the public sector and 3.4% for the private sector."

The early estimate of payrolled employees for January 2026 decreased by 134,000 (0.4%) on the year, and by 11,000 (0.0%) on the month, to 30.3 million.

More bad news for UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves as employment falls again. "Estimates for payrolled employees in the UK fell by 121,000 (0.4%) between December 2024 and December 2025, and decreased by 6,000 (0.0%) between November 2025 and December 2025."

UK Wind Power has risen to 15.9GW this morning. With 1.9GW of Solar we are burning 15.2GW of Gas as well as exporting 0.3GW. Hydro is 0.4GW. Nuclear is 3.9GW and the awful Biomass 3.3GW The price of wholesale electricity over the past 24 hours was £78 per MWh. #renewables

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By the way interviews with Bank of England policymakers should not be behind a paywall. They should be on the Bank of England website.

The Bank of England in an unusual move criticises UK government policy on youth unemployment Today my home country the UK is back in focus and we can start with the Bank of England. We can start with this from Thursday. UK real gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to have increased by 0.1% in…

With the UK Gilt market rallying and the ten-year yield falling to 4.4% a reminder that I explained what is behind this in this week's podcast. soundcloud.com/shaun-richar...

For those who have not followed this saga UK Prime Minister Kier Starner has been promising a rise in defence spending since he came to power. The Defence Investment Plan was due last year. So far it has been all talk......

UK Wind Power has fallen to 14.7GW this morning. With 1.1GW of Solar we are burning 11.4GW of Gas as well as importing 4.1GW. Hydro is 0.5GW. Nuclear is 3.9GW and the awful Biomass 3GW The price of wholesale electricity over the past 24 hours was £79 per MWh. #renewables

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UK Wind Power has rallied to 18.1GW this morning. With 0.1GW of Solar we are burning 6.3GW of Gas as well as importing 2.1GW. Hydro is 0.3GW. Nuclear is 3.9GW and the awful Biomass 2.4GW The price of wholesale electricity over the past 24 hours was £82 per MWh. #renewables

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Thank you to the ladies of Battersea Park Zumba who were in fine form earlier. 💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃

UK Wind Power has more than halved to 4.9GW this morning. With 1.6GW of Solar we are burning 18GW of Gas as well as importing 2.6GW. Hydro is 0.6GW. Nuclear is 3.9GW and the awful Biomass 2.9GW The price of wholesale electricity over the past 24 hours was £79 per MWh. #renewables

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I’m beginning to really worry (not sure I’d say fear yet) about stagflation in the UK. Be interested in your thoughts.? Why are UK 10 year bond prices so low, 4.46% today, They have been as high as 4.8/4.9. Debt up, spending up, taxes up, so why the improvement? soundcloud.com/shaun-richar...

A particular problem for Dr. Schnabel of the ECB is her own words from February 2024. Plus the tacit admission that nothing has been done in the meantime about EU and Euro area economic competitiveness.

If you have a question for my weekly economics and financial markets podcast then please let me know.

Dr. Isabel Schnabel of the ECB is singing a different tune to two years ago and hoping you will not spot that Today the focus is on the Euro area and the European Union. This is because someone I regard as a weather vane for views at the European Central Bank gave a speech on Wednesday and it was…

If you have a question for my weekly economics and financial markets podcast then please let me know.

US Treasury Bonds rallied yesterday so its ten-year yield is now 4.12%.

UK Wind Power has fallen to 11.5GW this morning. With 0.4GW of Solar we are burning 22.3GW of Gas as well as exporting 2.3GW. Hydro is 0.7GW. Nuclear is 4.3GW and the awful Biomass 3GW The price of wholesale electricity over the past 24 hours was £78 per MWh. #renewables

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The UK economy spent the second half of 2025 mired in stagflation This morning the economic focus has switched to my home country the UK but sadly he news was disappointing. UK real gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to have increased by 0.1% in Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2025, following a 0.1%…

Yesterday UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer stood up in the House of Commons and claimed "inflation is down" When he was elected UK CPI inflation was 2.2% As of the latest figures it was 3.4%

That means that in the second half of 2025 the UK economy grew by a mere 0.2% as GDP growth slowed to a crawl.

More disappointing news for UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves this morning. "UK real gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to have increased by 0.1% in Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2025, following a 0.1% increase in the previous quarter."

UK Wind Power has rallied to 12.8GW this morning. With 0.4GW of Solar we are burning 17.5GW of Gas as well as importing 0.3GW. Hydro is 0.6GW. Nuclear is 4.3GW and the awful Biomass 3.1GW The price of wholesale electricity over the past 24 hours was £81 per MWh. #renewables

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I am a keen Boris Bike user 🚲 The Santander Cycles system is dreadfully run and another example of how our political class cannot run anything properly.

We should envy the lack of inflation in China So far this week I have looked at potential inflationary impulses via larger fiscal stimuli in Japan on Monday and in the UK yesterday. In fact with a beleagured Prime Minister Starmer likely to turn left that seems set to grow. Today however we can…

The Japanese Yen has been rallying since the weekend election and has improved another big figure today to 153.18 versus the US Dollar.

The UK has been exporting electricity every day so far this week which is a rare situation these days.

UK Wind Power has fallen to 11.9GW this morning. With 0.1GW of Solar we are burning 18.8GW of Gas as well as exporting 1.6GW. Hydro is 0.5GW. Nuclear is 4.4GW and the awful Biomass 3.1GW The price of wholesale electricity over the past 24 hours was £82 per MWh. #renewables

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The SEND crisis is yet another example of our political class spending ever more money with little real effect Today the focus is on my home country the UK but let me open with something you may not be expecting. In the political furore yesterday it looks as though someone decided that it would be…

It is of course the training in Battersea Park that is the key here 🏃‍♀️🥇🇬🇧

Another surge in the Japanese stock market earlier as the Nikkei 225 rises to 57,602 setting yet another all-time high. My thoughts are at the link. notayesmanseconomics.wordpress.com If the plan for Japan was to inflate away the debt it has mostly worked as aimed

Another sign of the incompetence of the UK political class is the state of London's bridges.

UK Wind Power has rallied to 13.5GW this morning. With 0.2GW of Solar we are burning 18.7GW of Gas as well as exporting 3.3GW. Hydro is 0.3GW. Nuclear is 4.4GW and the awful Biomass 3.3GW The price of wholesale electricity over the past 24 hours was £87 per MWh. #renewables

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The Bank of England has just sold some £775 million of UK government bonds. It sold a 2037 maturity for 72.2 after paying 120 for it in 2020 and has lost interest too along the way #QE #QT

The Bank of England has just sold some £775 million of UK government bonds. It sold a 2037 maturity for 72.2 after paying 120 for it in 2020 and has lost interest too along the way #QE #QT

Or in other terms Japan has finally got some nominal GDP growth.

If the plan for Japan was to inflate away the debt it has mostly worked as aimed The news overnight and this morning has brought one of my main themes into play again. It starts with the news on the Japanese election via The Japan Times. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party…

For those worried about the UK Gilt market our ten-year yield has risen to 4.54% but the move so far is in line with other bond markets.

Well done if you hold Japanese equities. Today saw another new all-time high as the Nikkei 225 surged above 57,000 at one point and closed 4% higher.