The UK economy could shrink by a record 35% by June

Image

The UK's independent tax and spending watchdog has warned the coronavirus pandemic could see the economy shrink by a record 35% by June.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said that this was based on an assumption that the current lockdown would last for three months.


The IMF expects the UK economy will shrink by 6.5% in 2020.

It said the pandemic had plunged the world into a "crisis like no other".

The OBR's estimates - which focus on the virus's impact on the UK economy and public finances - is more severe.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Homosexuals in Iran are having sex reassignment surgery to avoid execution

Image
According to reports within Iran, the country has around 4,000 sex reassignment surgeries every year, in an attempt to purge homosexuality from the Islamic Republic. Life for gay men in Iran continues to be a psychological nightmare. In the Islamic Republic, homosexuality is illegal and punishments usually range anywhere from torture to public executions. The Iranian regime's treatment of transexuals, however, seems on the surface to be a different matter altogether. Transsexuality was legalized in Iran in 1987 and the country has the second-highest number of sex reassignment surgeries (SRSs) per year, second only to Thailand. However, in an interview with the British Sun newspaper, Iranian-born activist Shadi Amin claimed that the reason for this high number of SRSs in the country is not as accepting as it may seem on paper. According to Amin, the Iranian government gives gay men the choice to go through the surgery in place of being tortured or executed. Amin said t...
Read more

Global economy braced for a challenging 2020

Image
After a year in which global business was buffeted by macroeconomic concerns and geopolitical factors, the outlook for 2020 is likely to be dominated by the very same considerations. However, with a presidential election looming in the US and a host of “black swans” (such as the killing on Friday of Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s top general) on the international horizon, the potential for further economic volatility is, arguably, greater than in 2019. For the Middle East and Saudi Arabia, the challenge will be to maintain economic growth while simultaneously staging the big events planned for this year — the G20 gathering of world leaders in Riyadh in November and the Dubai Expo at about the same time.
Read more

Liverpool have rejected five-star hotel in Qatar as base for FIFA Club World Cup

Image
Liverpool FC Champions League jubilation Liverpool have rejected a five-star hotel in Doha, Qatar, after discovering a number of human rights issues surrounding the spot. The Reds will go to the Middle East in December for the FIFA Club World Cup, a challenge they qualified for after winning the Champions League in June. They were offered the Marsa Malaz Kempinski, a luxury hotel on the artificial island of Pearl-Qatar, but turned down the option to stay there due to its dubious past, according to  The Athletic . Artificial Island in Qatar In October 2018, an investigation by the Guardian revealed that migrant workers employed by the Marsa Malaz Kempinski hotel were earning salaries below that of the minimum wage and were in breach of labour laws. The investigation also revealed security guards were working 12-hour shifts in 45C temperatures, earning little more that £8 a day. The Athletic also claims Liverpool have now “informed FIFA and Qatari authorities of ...
Read more