I’ve told many who’ll listen that I think this will be a good year for investments, despite the usual ups and downs and the proviso that I’m not a fund manager paid large amounts to manage and know about such things. ‘How can you be so positive?’ I’m asked, ‘look at what’s happening, our country’s falling apart?’ Thing is, the health of your investments and our own, sad economy and social structure are pretty loosely connected. Most managed funds will favour the US, whose GDP is around 25% more than ours. Asia still makes most of our stuff and Europe has kept its collective head further above water than us. And a majority of companies in our own FTSE100 make most of their money outside the UK. At last glance, our main, recommended ‘Balanced’ fund managers have only around 15% in all things Brit. Not good for Britain, perhaps, but, a positive spin, it will give investors more money to spend here. Won’t it? Anyway, to paraphrase D Trump, if I’m right, I’ll take all the credit and if I’m wrong, none of the blame.
“Rachel Reeves may be forced to raise taxes”
Why did she/they (in the old sense) think that tinkering around with IHT and CGT would be enough to sort out the NHS; and the potholes; and…and the list goes on. My guess is that they asked the Treasury for a list of anything not involving income tax that they could get away with lightly, although they should already have learned from the winter fuel stuff that all publicity is not good publicity.