Sir Jim Ratcliffe: Act now or five million jobs will be lost October 9, 2025 Sir Jim Ratcliffe has called on Europe’s leaders to save the continent’s chemicals industry or risk losing millions of jobs. The founder and chairman of Ineos has urged politicians to make an “eleventh-hour intervention” at what he has described as a “moment of reckoning” for the industry. Sir Jim, who is also known as a [...]
UK inflation to rise as summer spending pushes up hotels and airfares August 17, 2025 UK inflation is set to have edged higher last month as summer spending pushed up flight and hotel costs, and food prices continue to climb. One economist said an “Oasis bump” could have contributed to higher accommodation prices in July. Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation is widely expected to have increased in July, from the [...]
Trump hikes India tariffs to 50 per cent for fuelling Russian ‘war machine’ August 6, 2025 President Donald Trump has imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on India after the country’s government imported Russian Federation Oil. In an executive order signed on Wednesday, the White House said it would slap Indian imports with the fresh levy taking their overall rate to 50 per cent. The President warned on Tuesday he [...]
Analysis: A US-EU trade deal looks unlikely. What does that mean for the UK? July 7, 2025 The clock is ticking on the EU-US trade deal set to expire on 9 July. The European Union is pushing for immediate relief from tariffs, but the bloc expects even a best-case deal to include a degree of asymmetry. While the UK is not at the negotiating table, Britain may find itself absorbing collateral damage [...]
Only roaring growth can save Reeves, and the country June 11, 2025 The Chancellor had been speaking for about five minutes when it dawned on me that she wasn’t going to say anything interesting. By the time she got to discussing the finer points of Southport’s pier and Kirkcaldy’s high street, I’d moved on to other things. That’s not to say that the Spending Review wasn’t interesting, [...]
Interest rate cuts need to slow down to curb inflation, says Huw Pill May 20, 2025 Interest rate cuts are fuelling inflation and need to slow down, the Bank of England’s chief economist Huw Pill has warned ahead of the release of fresh data set to show a jump in price growth in April. The Bank‘s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted by a slim majority to cut interest rates to 4.25 [...]
Inflation set to ramp up after ‘Awful April’ May 19, 2025 Inflation is expected to have risen above three per cent last month in data which will reflect the costly impacts of what has been dubbed ‘Awful April’ due to tax rises and bill hikes. A Bloomberg poll of economists has predicted inflation to come in at 3.3 per cent, a sharp spike from March when [...]
When words matter more than numbers at the Bank of England May 5, 2025 City analysts have pencilled in their predictions for Thursday. Here’s how almost all of them likely read. Interest rates will be cut to 4.25 per cent, the Bank of England’s inflation forecast for this year will exceed its two per cent target and President Trump’s tariffs will be highlighted as a detriment to UK growth. [...]
Inflation expected to ease slightly in March amid uncertain future April 15, 2025 Inflation in the month to March is expected to remain well above the Bank of England’s target rate of two per cent, putting policymakers in an awkward position ahead of a potential interest rate cut in May. A Bloomberg poll of economists said that consumer price inflation (CPI) on a year-on-year basis will hit 2.7 [...]
Will Man United’s stadium project really deliver £7.3bn a year to the UK? March 14, 2025 It wasn’t just the big top design and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s comparison’s with the Eiffel Tower that raised eyebrows when Manchester United revealed the latest plans for a new £2bn stadium to replace Old Trafford this week. The benefits forecast for the project, which includes the wider regeneration of the area, also set tongues wagging: [...]