Greece and the Eurozone: Problems and Implications for the EU. The recent, successfully concluded, initial renegotiations on the conditions of the previously agreed ‘bail out’ provisions for Greece, have been problematic for all parties concerned. Nor is it clear what exactly has been agreed or not agreed and what might be anticipated as the end-game in June 2015. Partly the reason for the confusion has been procedural Read More

A Panacea for the Eurozone Problems? Concern about the stagnation of economic growth in the Eurozone is again growing. Unemployment is still unacceptably high in a number of the Eurozone countries, notably Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal, and Ireland. At 0.3% the rate of inflation is well below the mandated rate of just below 2% and fears of deflation have not gone away. The latest ECB growth forecasts are for 0.8% in 2014 and 1.0% in Read More

Comment on the NHS 5-Year Forward View Funding There is considerable confusion over the figures in the recently published NHS Forward Review. The funding scenarios in the Forward View are less than transparent in what they suggest. This is because the scenarios encompass a) funding requirements for infrastructure and operational investment, b) an attenuation of demand pressures, and, only partly explained, suggested efficiency Read More