To read the papers this morning, you’d think the Government was staring insolvency in the face because yesterday’s auction of gilts was 7% unsubscribed.  But suddenly today’s auction was three times over-subscribed killing a jolly good story.  There is an awful lot of silliness in the reporting of the public finances at the moment - encapsulated in this 24 hour panic - stoked as usual by the right wing commentariat and the Conservative Party. Indeed the Tories must have thought their moment had come yesterday; how disappointed they must have been as they sat down for elevenses today.

Journalists are also getting a bit over-excited about the delphic comments coming from politicians’ lips.  For example, Reuters has concluded today that the Chancellor has endorsed a fiscal stimulus while Bloomberg deduces the opposite from the same comments.

To paraphrase Michael Winner: “Calm down dear, it’s only a Budget”.

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