One of the benefits of having a 'compact newsroom' is that we at NTI find it easier to agree with ourselves when constructing bulletins. For example, Billy is on his own in the NTI newsroom this afternoon (Friday 21 July) and although one of his favourite and oft-delivered gags is "I may be schizophrenic, but at least I have each other", he mostly agrees with what he is writing.
This is 'unlike The Times' which today has two articles within a virtual foot of each other. One bemoans that 'Higher Costs Hits Consumer Confidence', wailing that British folks' faith has fallen for the first time in six months after rapidly rising interest rates and mortgage costs dealt a blow to households already battling a cost of living crisis. It goers on to say that a closely watched monthly measure of household sentiment compiled by GfK fell by six points to -30 in July, reversing the steady recovery that began at the start of the year.
However, a mere glance away (and topping the headlines in the business section) rings out the big caption; 'Sunny Start to Summer Boosts Retail Sales'. Under a picture of a smiling she-human standing on top of another non-specific human's shoulders the writer has it that record high temperatures helped to bring out shoppers to the high street in June, helping a measure of retail sales to grow stronger than forecast that month. Official figures showed a 0.7 per cent monthly rise in the value of retail sales from May to June, as the warmest June on record helped to boost spending on items such as furniture, food and clothing from department stores.
Squabbles extend beyond feature writers on this Friday in July, and the very last thing a beleagured Bank of England Governor, Andrew Bailey, needs right now is someone who previously occupied that role, and who is now high-fallutin with the title Lord King of Lothbury, although we know him as simply Mervyn King, criticising him and his policies. Merv didn't hold back; he said (also in The Times) that Andy Bailey and his gang of thieves risks causing a recession by tightening interest rates too much as it tries to bring inflation under control.
"What are your particular gripes, Merv?"
"Well - and could you move, you're standing on my robes - the Bank is ignoring signals from money supply data, which had predicted soaring prices before it acted. The risk is that having ignored money when inflation was rising, they’re now ignoring money when inflation is actually about to fall. What we could see, therefore, is a mistake in both directions."
"What would you have done had you still occupied that role, your Lordship?"
"Better things, more quickly."
Always good to hear from Lord King of Lothbury on a fun family day out at Alton Towers.
