The public isn’t buying Labour’s growth story February 13, 2025 Today’s growth figures will have elicited a sigh of relief across the government. A meagre 0.1 per cent uptick is certainly better than a recession. Though the news is not all good. The economy is smaller on a per capita terms, and when you dig down into the data, private sector activity is shrinking. An [...]
Rachel Reeves tax raid ‘unlikely to succeed’, analysts warn February 13, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ attempts to put the public finances on firmer ground through tax hikes are “unlikely to succeed,” according to analysts at Oxford Economics. Collecting evidence from a range of ‘fiscal adjustments’ – attempts by governments to balance their budget deficits – Edward Allenby and Adam Slater said attempts to balance the budget through [...]
UK economy: Mixed signals for Rachel Reeves as GDP beats expectations February 13, 2025 You can tell it has been a bleak midwinter when quarterly growth figures of 0.1 per cent sets the pulses racing.
GDP grows 0.1 per cent as UK economy skirts recession February 13, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves received a small boost after the economy unexpectedly grew at the end of last year, ensuring the UK does not face an imminent recession. Output expanded 0.1 per cent in the final three months of the year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), after GDP rose 0.4 per cent in [...]
Labour has sucked the confidence out of wealthy Brits February 13, 2025 The government defines a high net worth individual as someone with an income of at least £170,000 and net assets of more than £430,000. Such people are undoubtedly in a comfortable position, but are hardly reaching non-dom status. Indeed, those just meeting the government’s definition would be politely turned down for a bank account at [...]
BoE’s Greene backs ‘cautious’ interest rate cuts despite ‘uncomfortable’ growth performance February 12, 2025 A rate-setter at the Bank of England backed a “cautious” approach to cutting interest rates despite the “uncomfortable” recent performance of the economy. “The macroeconomic news over recent months has been uncomfortable,” Megan Greene, an external member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) said. “GDP has roughly flatlined since Spring of last year and expectations [...]
Reeves faces tough choices as recession fears mount on UK downgrade February 12, 2025 The watchdog will put together four more forecasts in the coming weeks, but the earliest draft suggests that Reeves will be facing a small deficit in March, Bloomberg reported.
Households will still feel the squeeze even if Budget boosts growth February 12, 2025 Poorer households will not see their living standards recover to pre-2022 levels for another two years despite an anticipated acceleration in economic growth, new forecasts suggest. The forecasts highlight the challenges in ensuring households across the country feel the benefit of any growth that the Labour government is able to stimulate. The National Institute for [...]
IFS: UK must intervene to stop ‘ridiculous’ proliferation of small pension pots February 12, 2025 The government should clamp down on the “ridiculous” proliferation of small pension pots, a leading think tank has said. The growing number of these small-scale funds puts up costs for pension providers and makes it more difficult for savers to make sensible decisions, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) argued. “Further action is needed to [...]
UK bosses to embrace M&A to stay ahead of digital curve February 12, 2025 Nearly all business bosses (99 per cent) said they expect to actively pursue transactions over the next year, according to EY's latest CEO outlook.