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So far Bob has created 225 blog entries.

Analysis of the 2024 Mais Lecture by the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer

You can download here the rough, first-draft version of my analysis of the 2024 Mais Lecture given by Rachel Reeves, the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer.

This summary has just been published by the Conservative Post website so I have decided to make available the current, not-totally-polished version of the full paper behind it.

In her lecture […]

The Celtic Paper Tiger

Published by Global Britain

Global Britain has released my report on the degree to which the economy of the Republic of Ireland is dominated by activities that reduce the tax bills of foreign multinationals.

You can download the report here.

The report dissects the two elements of tax-sparing activities:

the re-invoicing through Ireland of goods made elsewhere and services […]

Increasing debt imposed on EU citizens and businesses by EU institutions

Title of article in the Journal des Libertés

This is the article that has been published in the Winter 2023/4 edition of the Journal des Libertés and which is based on my address to the IES-IREF Summer University in Aix-en-Provence.

You can download the full article here.

Its major topic is InvestEU, the scheme arranged by the European […]

Ofgem to allow suppliers to surcharge paying customers so as to subsidize non-paying ones

Consultation announcement on Ofgem’s website

Published on 21st December 2023

Ofgem has put a proposal out to consultation until January 24th 2024 to permit a supplement to energy prices to compensate suppliers for customers’ bad debts. This will be the first widespread example of differential pricing based on a customer’s financial resources: good payers on metered supply […]

Treasury Select Committee report on the digital pound

TSC report headline

Published on 9th December 2023

The Treasury Select Committee has issued report about the Bank of England’s digital pound project, also known as ‘Britcoin’, and a UK ‘central bank digital currency’ or ‘CBDC’.

You can download the report here

Its headlines are:

‘Britcoin’ must be introduced via primary legislation that is subject to full Parliamentary scrutiny, and […]

How can HSBC’s China real estate lending be unsecured?

Daily Express headline for the article on which this blog is based

Published on 6th December 2023

This is the third and final blog in my mini-series about the exposure of Britsh banks to China, and to Chinese real estate lending in particular.

You can acecss the whole Daily Express article of which the snapshot above is the […]

HSBC and Standard Chartered send the same emollient messages about heavy losses on China

Daily Express article headline

Published on 5th December 2023

This is the second of the three blogs on the problems of British banks in China.

You can access the whole article to which the above snapshot is the headline, via the Daily Express website through this link:

https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1831225/china-contagion-hsbc-standard-chartered

HSBC released their Q3 2023 results a few days after Standard Chartered […]

Big hit for UK’s Standard Chartered Bank on Chinese business

Original Daily Express article

Published on 4th December 2023

This is the first in a series of three blogs that I will be releasing in quick succession, on China and the problems of British banks there.

You can access the whole article beneath the Daily Express headline via this link:

https://www.express.co.uk/finance/city/1829526/china-economy-standard-chartered-bank-contagion

Standard Chartered took two write-downs in Q3 2023.

Firstly […]