Decisive action – but here are the catches

ALISTAIR Darling's Pre-Budget Report (PBR) needs to be judged in two main parts. First: does it do enough by way of a fiscal boost to minimise the recession and restore long-term growth? Second: has the Chancellor done enough by way of tax rises in the medium term to steady market nerves shaken by the inevitable rise in public debt? In other words, how will the PBR play on the high street and in the City?

To begin in the high street, the stimulus is a big one – next year's increase in borrowing is the biggest annual percentage jump in peacetime. Early indications were that Mr Darling would pump extra spending to the equivalent of 15 per cent of gross ...