Labour’s growth agenda? Necessary but not sufficient. March 11, 2025 Ministers will be deeply frustrated at the lack of economic growth, though they ought not to be surprised. Their own missteps have been well covered in this newspaper, and week after week new survey data reveals the extent to which government policies have dampened spirits, reduced hiring and spooked confidence. However, while their opening salvo [...]
Confidence boost for UK shoppers fails to improve high street retail sales March 11, 2025 High street retail sales continued to fall in February despite a confidence boost for UK consumers, a survey has found. Overall, retail sales increased by 1.1 per cent in February, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC).However, this was driven by food sales, which grew 2.3 per cent year-on-year. Non-food sales were flat in February, [...]
Reeves eyeing spending cuts as fiscal walls cave in March 10, 2025 Rachel Reeves is expected to take the chop to spending in her upcoming Spring Statement, as the government’s fiscal headroom disappears. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is set to show a depletion in the Chancellor’s headway, according to BNP Paribas economists. This leaves the government with little options beside further tax hikes or spending [...]
Mark Carney: From the Bank of England to Prime Minister of Canada March 10, 2025 Following his dramatic ascension as Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney will surely be tempted to call an election on a platform of taking the fight to Donald Trump. But if he wins, that’s where his problems will start, says Michael Martins For such a staid and sober place, Canadian politics has taken a radical [...]
Ex-Bank of England governor Mark Carney named next Canadian PM March 10, 2025 Former Bank of England governor Mark Carney has been named the next Canadian prime minister after winning his party leadership vote in a landslide. Carney won 85.9 per cent of the vote in the Liberal Party leadership contest and will succeed Justin Trudeau, who has been in office for nine years. He served as the [...]
Housebuilder Persimmon to post higher profit amid slow recovery in demand March 9, 2025 Housebuilder Persimmon is expected to report a rebound in profits next week after two years of steep declines, after the housing market made a slow recovery in 2024. The FTSE 100 company will post its financial results for last year on Tuesday In January, Persimmon said profit would come in towards the top end of [...]
The four factors set to raise inflation this year March 7, 2025 Inflation will briefly hit 3.6 per cent this year and “remain well above” the Bank of England’s target until late 2026, according to Oxford Economics. In a report led by UK economist Edward Allenby outlined the four key drivers of inflation in the upcoming year. Changes in the Budget Allenby highlighted the VAT slapped onto [...]
UK mortgage brokers expect interest rates to jump March 7, 2025 According to a new study, over two-thirds of UK mortgage brokers expect interest rates to stop falling and resume their upward trend by the beginning of next year. Butterfield Mortgages surveyed 300 brokers and 69 per cent said they believed the Bank of England base rate would be higher than the current level of 4.5 per cent [...]
Rate-setter calls on Bank of England to adopt ‘activist’ approach to rates March 6, 2025 The Bank of England should adopt a more activist approach to setting interest rates in order to deal with the “substantial volatility” affecting geopolitics and financial markets, a rate-setter has said. Catherine Mann, an external member of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), argued that rate-setters should be more willing to vote for more radical [...]
Week in Business: Who will Rachel Reeves blame for higher taxes in Spring Statement? March 6, 2025 City AM Editor Christian May looks at the biggest business stories in his weekly video, today focusing on the UK economy and upcoming Spring Statement.