Rising yields are back
The energy bottlenecks we wrote about recently became rather more personal for the large proportion
of the UK population that are motorists. In fairness, the UK’s petrol station forecourt crisis has little to do
with rising energy prices around the world, but with a more specific shortage of heavy goods vehicle (HGV)
drivers, combined with the population’s dwindling trust of UK institutions to foresee and resolve issues
before they occur. This collective mistrust triggers the panic buying response, rather like with the toilet
paper shortage of last year.
Germany votes for change of the orderly kind
Germans want a change. That much is clear from last week’s election result, which saw the ruling Christian
Democratic Union (CDU/CSU) poll worse than ever before. Angela Merkel’s CDU has ruled Germany
since 2005, but claimed just 24.1% of votes on Sunday, a significant fall from the 32.9% achieved in 2017.
Unfortunately, the exact change voters want is much less clear. The centre-left Social Democratic Party
(SPD) won the greatest vote share, but at just 25.7%. This shows just how fragmented the electorate has
become.
Business investment: why we care about capex
Throughout this year’s recovery, consumption and household spending have been key factors to watch.
Global growth can only continue if consumers are confident in their prospects – which is why we have
been closely monitoring developments in employment and household savings rates. This is particularly
important in the face of wavering economic sentiment and the likelihood of a difficult winter ahead.