Yesterday, 3rd August, Rachel Reeves, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor was keen to jump on this BBC chart updated 3rd August.
Only it is wrong.
The Federal funds target range went up following the Fed announcement of 26th July to 5.25-5.50%. The effective Federal Funds rate went up from 5.08%, as seen on BBC chart, to 5.33%. It seems the BBC chart left off the latest rise in US rates. The US data published by Fed New York:
So the BBC got this wrong and Reeves repeated without checking. I have written to the BBC’s Kevin Peachey but he has not responded.
Of course, Reeves’ biggest fail is ignoring the trend that is affecting all economies and trying to find a gotcha. Rankings are the Devil’s work. Always check where your peers are. Yes, English speaking world 1% ahead of EU. Same staircase.
Phil Taylor 