U.K. Publications
Below is a list of our U.K. Publications for the last 6 months. If you are looking for reports older than 6 months please email info@pantheonmacro.com, or contact your account rep
Please use the filters on the right to search for a specific date or topic.
labour
- Omicron fears already have led people to travel and visit restaurants, shops and cinemas less often.
- Booster jabs are containing hospital admissions, but people still have good reasons to avoid being infected.
- While boosters and school holidays will weigh on cases, Omicron and Christmas festivities will keep R>1.
Samuel Tombs (UK Economist)U.K.
- Rising interest payments are slowing the rate that public borrowing is falling.
- Fiscal headroom probably will be just half that assumed in the October Budget…
- …But Mr. Sunak still will have a free hand in signing off pre-election tax cuts in 2023.
Samuel Tombs (UK Economist)U.K.
- MPC members Bailey and Pill are sitting on the fence, despite last week's upside data surprises.
- In a weekend paper interview, the Governor highlighted the public sector's role in driving the recovery.
- We put the odds of a December rate hike at 60%, well below the 80-to-90% range priced by markets.
Samuel Tombs (UK Economist)U.K.
- October's 4.2% rate of CPI inflation was well above the MPC's 3.9% forecast; such a large error margin is rare.
- The upside surprise came from the core, and will carry over to future months; April's peak looks set to top 5%.
- Mean-reversion in energy and goods prices, however, should ensure that CPI inflation dips below 2% in 2023.
Samuel Tombs (UK Economist)U.K.
- The 0.6% m/m rise in payroll employee numbers in October implies unemployment didn't rise post-furlough...
- ...But the drop in median pay in October suggests many furloughed staff have returned only part-time.
- Year-over-year growth in wages continued to slow in September; no sign of a wage-price spiral forming.
Samuel Tombs (UK Economist)U.K.
- In one line: Payroll data suggest unemployment hasn’t risen post-furlough.
Samuel Tombs (UK Economist)U.K.
- U.K. exports in Q3 were 14% below their 2018 average, a larger shortfall than in any other G7 economy.
- It's not just services exports; U.K. goods exports are well below their pre-Covid level; Brexit is to blame.
- Several potential further headwinds loom, including the risk of further trade barriers from the EU.
Gabriella DickensU.K.
- U.K. GDP was 2.1% below its Q4 2019 level in Q3, exceeding the shortfalls seen in other G7 counties.
- Households have continued to spend more cautiously than those abroad; high virus levels are partly to blame.
- Brexit also has contributed to the continued underper- formance; exports were 17% below their 2019 average.
Samuel Tombs (UK Economist)U.K.
- Payroll employee numbers likely increased again in October, but not quite as strongly as in Q3.
- The data, however, will not gauge underemployment; October's LFS data, released in December, remain key.
- The recent drop in Covid-19 cases has largely been driven by school holidays; expect a renewed rise soon.
Gabriella DickensU.K.
- The Conservatives' poll lead has virtually disappeared; we doubt it will re-emerge next year.
- Higher inflation and rising interest rates will keep consumers' confidence weak.
- A hung parliament would bring to the fore Brexit and Scottish independence risks again, weakening sterling.
Samuel Tombs (UK Economist)U.K.
- Nearly 4% of all staff still were furloughed in September, yet redundancies appear to have remained low.
- Involuntarily part-time working, however, likely became much more widespread in Q4.
- October's labour market data will be partial and might not offset concerns about the recovery's strength.
Samuel Tombs (UK Economist)U.K.
- We think GDP merely held steady in September, undershooting the consensus and the BoE's forecast.
- Data from other countries show that industrial pro- duction was impeded by component shortages.
- Car sales fell sharply in September, while the "stay- cationing" boost to the hospitality sector ended.
Samuel Tombs (UK Economist)U.K.
- On balance, we still think the MPC won't act next month; Mr. Bailey hinted October's labour data may not suffice.
- The MPC's inflation forecasts seemingly support markets' view that rates will rise to 1.0% by the end of 2022...
- ...But they are based on implausible energy price figures; its spare capacity forecasts point to a lower rate path.
Samuel Tombs (UK Economist)U.K.
- The MPC's view the output gap has closed means it must counter plans for higher government spending.
- But the Committee can wait until 2022 to act; the recovery is faltering, and underlying inflation is not high.
- The MPC will see key jobs data if it waits until December; higher rates are coming, but not just yet.
Samuel Tombs (UK Economist)U.K.
- The Chancellor spent only about half of the windfall stemming from the OBR's rosier economic forecasts...
- ...In order to build scope to cut taxes before the next election, while still meeting his new fiscal targets.
- The OBR's new GDP forecasts are too upbeat, while its debt interest forecast is too low, but this won't matter.
Samuel Tombs and Gabriella DickensU.K.
- Households' medium-term inflation expectations fell by 0.1pp to 3.7% in October, according to YouGov/Citi.
- Nearly all the rise in expectations can be explained by current inflation rates; no sign of de-anchoring.
- Manufacturing output isn't that sensitive to energy prices; we continue to expect modest growth in Q4.
Samuel Tombs and Gabriella DickensU.K.
- Markets are pricing-in a 65bp rise in Bank Rate by March and expect the first hike to come next week...
- ...But falling consumer confidence, low pay settlements and rising Covid cases strengthen the case for patience.
- November is "live", but markets' conviction is too strong; potential swing voters on the MPC have been very
Samuel Tombs (UK Economist)U.K.
- The MPC's preferred measure of underlying services inflation merely matched its 2010s average in September.
- CPI inflation is on course to rise to a peak of about 4.8% in April, from 3.1% in September...
- ...But the rise will be driven largely by higher energy prices; core inflation should remain well-behaved.
Samuel Tombs (UK Economist)U.K.
- The OBR likely will revise smaller its "scarring" estimate only to 2.5% of GDP, from 3.0% previously.
- The resulting uplift to future tax revenues will be offset by higher projections for interest payments.
- Mr. Sunak will have little, if any, headroom in meeting his target for a balanced current budget in three years' time.
Samuel Tombs (UK Economist)U.K.
- Are you sure Governor Bailey said something new on Sunday? Governor Bailey thought not.
- The statement "we will have to act" was qualified; medium-term inflation expectations need to be worrying.
- Confidence has fallen in response to rising inflation expectations; workers don't expect wages to keep pace.
Samuel Tombs (UK Economist)U.K.
