The Autumn Statement was the topic for David Harris, Consultant for InvaTrust Consultancy, when he joined Zak Mir, technical analyst for Zak’s Traders Café, and Mike Ingram, Strategist for BGC Partners, on the Tip TV Finance Show.
Did Osbourne wrong-foot everyone?
Harris began by noting that the Autumn Statement was an astute and ambitious political statement, and questioned whether that it fulfilled the economic side of the statement. He continued onto the policies, where the £27 billion made available to Osbourne transformed his view on tax credits, as well as other plans across the board. He moved onto the building of 400’000 houses in the UK, which Harris commented was unrealistic due to the lack of labour.
In terms of tax, Harris continued that along with the last budget, the result is an extra £14 billion coming through in tax increases which wasn’t in the Tory manifesto. He also dwelled on the budget deficit, which Osbourne has maintained will become a surplus by 2020, and he judged it to be a naked political gamble. To conclude, Ingram highlighted that the public spending over the Autumn Statement period was about $4 trillion, which makes the £27 billion found comparatively tiny. Harris agreed, and believed that the Autumn Statement did indeed wrong-foot everyone.
Watch the video to see further analysis on the Autumn Statement, as well as views on the UK equities, a BoE rate hike and the bond market.