Market is ‘voting machines’ for stability, says economist

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Market is ‘voting machines’ for stability, says economist

Bill Blain of Shard Capital told the BBC's Today programme that markets are simply voting machines about what they think will happen next. The last couple of weeks has really destroyed the image of political competency and that is one of the key elements to make any economy work.

There are three things you need to have a stable currency, a sustainable bond market and a competent politics, and because it looks like competent politics is broken that is creating the volatility we're seeing in markets. After the Bank of England intervened in with its emergency support programme and after Jeremy Hunt reversed almost all the mini-budget measures when he became chancellor, these costs fell back.

The interest rate on UK government bonds for borrowing over a 10 year period jumped above 4% on Thursday morning, although this only brought the rate back to the level it had been 24 hours earlier.

The rate remains below the levels seen in the immediate aftermath of the mini-budget, but it is still higher than before the announcement.

Simon French, chief economist at Panmure Gordon, told the BBC: The UK government can borrow at 4% for 10 years, but it's the UK Government paying 0.75% more than it should be if you compare the cost of government debt to other comparable countries.

The pound was steady against the US dollar on Thursday, trading at about $1.12, although it was lower than the level of $1.14 it hit on Monday after the announcement that most of the mini-budget measures were being scrapped.