UK: Fake Plastic Recovery

• Aug 2, 2017 at 8:30am
• London, UK
• 30 South Colonnade

Join us for this must-attend event. RSVP today to save your seat.

For many months after the referendum, the UK economy appeared to defy gravity, with consumer spending in particular spurred on by ever greater reliance on credit, and especially unsecured credit (or plastic), in recent months.

In the end, gravity always wins, as Radiohead noted in their song “Fake Plastic Trees”. The fundamentals in the UK are poor: unprecedentedly weak productivity growth; over-extended households, whose saving ratio is at an all-time low; artificially-supported asset prices and a colossal current account deficit. Layered on top of that are the negative medium-term impacts of Brexit-induced uncertainty on already weak investment.

With the government stumbling after the election, and occupied with difficult Brexit negotiations, it looks as though those weak fundamentals are now reasserting themselves.

Can the UK find a route to stronger growth, or at least ride on the coat-tails of more dynamic economies abroad? Or is it destined to experience the debt-laden grind that has characterised Japan for the last 25 years? What can policy makers do to improve the outcomes for the economy?

Join Fathom and their distinguished panellists Sir Charlie Bean and Sir John Gieve, as they debate the outlook for the UK economy and asset markets in this challenging context.

Event information:

Date: Wednesday 2nd August 2017
Time: 08:30 – 11:00
Location: Thomson Reuters, South Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 5EP
Speakers: Sir Charlie Bean, Economist and Former Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy at the Bank of England Sir John Gieve, Former Civil Servant and Deputy Governor for Financial Stability at the Bank of England.

Register Today