Self-inflicted damage makes mockery of government growth pledge October 15, 2025 Back in June, before Donald Trump orchestrated a tentative peace in the Middle East, he reacted with fury to Israel and Iran’s escalating exchange of missile and drone attacks, telling reporters “they don’t know what the f**k they’re doing.” Sometimes undiplomatic language has its place, even in high-stakes diplomacy. I was reminded of this approach [...]
Bank of England’s Taylor: High rates could push UK into recession October 14, 2025 The UK risks heading into a recession that will be “difficult to contain” if interest rates are kept on hold into next year, a Bank of England rate-setter has said in a speech that has further exposed widening splits between policymakers over the best path for borrowing costs. In a set of dovish comments made [...]
IMF downgrades UK growth and warns inflation will be highest in G7 October 14, 2025 Inflation in the UK is set to surge above all G7 countries in the next two years while growth per capita will lag behind the average across advanced economies, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted. In its World Economic Outlook report, the IMF has said that inflation in the UK will remain higher than [...]
Unemployment rises as concerns grow for UK jobs market October 14, 2025 The unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.8 per cent in September, while the inactivity rate was 21 per cent, “largely unchanged” on the previous quarter but below levels seen a year ago. The estimated number of vacancies in the UK also fell by 9,000, marking the 39th consecutive period of job posting declines. The ONS [...]
Retail sales slow as Budget and inflation weigh on spending plans October 14, 2025 Retail spending slowed in September, as a tax raising Budget and higher household inflation expectations forced Brits to tighten their belts before the all-important ‘Golden Quarter’. Total retail sales in September increased by 2.3 per cent year on year, down from the 3.1 per cent that the sector notched up in August and the 2.5 [...]
How Reeves could ‘trigger’ bond market fright and collapse UK economy October 9, 2025 Poor decisions made by Rachel Reeves at the next Budget could send the UK economy into a crisis if her announcements trigger a collapse in bond markets’ confidence, according to a scenario played out by analysts at Oxford Economics. Rachel Reeves has pledged to drive growth in the UK and lower the cost of living [...]
Bank of England’s Mann: Higher interest rates will lower inflation fears October 9, 2025 The Bank of England has said that households’ fears of high inflation levels could be tempered by keeping interest rates for longer. In an event hosted by the think tank Resolution Foundation, Mann doubled down on her calls for the Bank to squeeze out inflation pressures in order to ease household nerves of higher prices [...]
Andrew Bailey: Regulation is not hampering growth October 3, 2025 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has warned of the dangers associated with paring back financial regulation, in a speech in which he also denied that the abundance of red tape foisted on the financial sector after the Great Financial Crash had impeded economic activity. Addressing the Klass Knot Farewell Symposium, Bailey, who was recently [...]
‘Subdued’ services sector suffers steep drop as tax hikes bite October 3, 2025 Business activity expansion fell to a five-month low after a “subdued” services sector experienced a dull end to the third quarter. S&P’s UK Services Purchasing Managers Index Business Activity tumbled to 50.8 in September, falling steeply from the 16-month high of 54.2 secured in August. “This summer’s acceleration in output growth is now looking like [...]
Bosses’ inflation expectations highest in two years amid employment freeze October 2, 2025 Fears that inflation will remain well above the Bank of England’s two per cent target intensified on Thursday, after a closely watched survey of businesses revealed bosses plan to raise prices at their fastest rate since the height of the cost-of-living crisis. British businesses also have the weakest hiring intentions since 2020 with firms expecting [...]