IMF slaps UK with biggest growth downgrade of any G7 country April 14, 2026 The UK economy has suffered the biggest growth forecast downgrade of any country in the G7 in the International Monetary Fund’s spring economic outlook report, dealing a blow to Chancellor Rachel Reeves as she struggles to overcome setbacks sparked by the Iran war. Growth this year was revised down by 0.5 percentage points as trade [...]
Fuel shortages, hunger, inflation spiral: IMF fears ‘scarring’ harm from Iran war April 9, 2026 Several fuel shortages, hunger and spiralling inflation will be some of the consequences of the Iran war as the head of the International Monetary Fund said that it would leave “scarring effects” on the global economy. In a speech by Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF’s managing director, global policymakers were warned that trade disruption across the [...]
Goldman: Oil could remain at crisis prices for rest of year April 9, 2026 Goldman Sachs has warned that oil prices could stay above the $100 a barrel mark for the rest of 2026 if the Strait of Hormuz stays shut for another month. In a note published on Thursday, the investment bank said any truce between Iran and the United States would be fragile, and that four more [...]
Amazon plans new round of job cuts as IMF chief warns of AI ‘tsunami’ January 23, 2026 Amazon prepares a new round of job cuts amid growing use of automation across corporate roles, following a round of redundancies just months ago. The move comes as the head of the International Monetary Fund warned that AI is set to hit the global labour market like a “tsunami”. Speaking at the World Economic Forum [...]
IMF: UK economy to lag behind growth of advanced economies January 19, 2026 The UK economy is set to grow at a slower pace than the average across advanced economies in each of the next two years, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said, in a warning on the Labour government’s ability competitiveness against world powers. The IMF has kept its UK growth figures for 2026 and 2027 [...]
Global trade resilient but uncertainty persists, IMF director warns December 8, 2025 Trade is expected to stabilise over 2026 but global uncertainty may potentially impact economies by up to two per cent of their GDP, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) director has warned. Jihad Azour, who oversees the MENA, North Africa, Central Asia, and the Caucasus Region, said 2025 was a year “of two cities,” with shocks [...]
Private credit: Ponzi scheme or panacea? November 3, 2025 Over the past decade, the private credit industry has ballooned from arcane financial solution to a core pillar of asset management. But recent tremors in corporate debt markets have led several economic institutions to warn of its risks to the global economy. Ali Lyon asks: how worried should we be? What kept you awake at [...]
Rachel Reeves: Higher taxes on wealthy ‘part of story’ for Budget October 16, 2025 Rachel Reeves has confirmed a tax grab on the UK’s wealthy will be “part of the story” for her forthcoming Autumn Budget as she dismissed critics who fear an exodus from the nation’s richest. The Chancellor has faced rallying calls to launch a cash grab on the wealthy as she looks to strum up funds [...]
UK economy grew 0.1 per cent in August October 16, 2025 The UK economy grew by 0.1 per cent in August, Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures have shown, with a struggling construction sector in the month weighing down on output across the UK. The ONS data indicated on Wednesday morning the UK economy was set for a significant slowdown after an upswing in spending over [...]
Should we be worried about AI market concentration? October 16, 2025 An interesting statistic caught my eye this week on reading the IMF’s report into global financial stability. The report cited a decades-old measure known as the Herfindahl-Hirschman index. While hardly catchy, the Herfindahl-Hirschman index is a simple tool for assessing the dominance of certain players within the market. The higher the number, the greater the [...]