UK economic growth downgraded for second quarter December 22, 2025 Growth in the UK economy was revised downwards on Monday after fresh figures revealed economy expanded less than initially thought in the second quarter. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) cut the UK’s economic growth in the three months to June to 0.2 per cent from 0.3 per cent previously. The third quarter’s sluggish 0.1 [...]
Metro Bank handed capital boost from banking watchdog December 19, 2025 High street lender Metro Bank is set for a major capital boost after a reclassification from the banking watchdog. The FTSE 250 firm said on Friday it has received confirmation from the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) that it would be listed as a transfer firm under the newly introduced MREL regime from 2026. Introduced in [...]
Bailey sounds alarm on AI as youth unemployment jumps December 19, 2025 AI could displace workers on a scale not seen since the Industrial Revolution, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has warned, as the UK jobs market shows fresh signs of strain. Bailey said the rapid adoption of AI across the economy was “most likely” to have a similar effect to past technological upheavals. “As you [...]
Inflation can become a self-fulfilling prophecy December 19, 2025 Managing inflation expectations will be a key challenge in the coming year, says Daniel Mahoney When does a prophecy become a reality? Since the 1970s, it has been conventional wisdom that the key to controlling inflation is controlling inflation expectations – but outside economics circles it is not often appreciated why. However, managing expectations increasingly [...]
Bank of England cuts interest rates to near three-year low December 18, 2025 The Bank of England has delivered a pre-Christmas rate cut, reducing its central interest rate to 3.75 per cent amid a deteriorating labour market and signs price rises will continue to slow into the new year. In a close 5-4 vote that was decided by Andrew Bailey, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) chose to reduce [...]
‘Chance of 2026 recession’ despite interest rate cut – follow live December 18, 2025 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The Bank of England has handed Chancellor Rachel Reeves and the Labour government a highly-desired Christmas present today. The central bank confirmed a chop to interest rates falling to 3.75 per cent – the lowest in nearly three years. It comes after inflation undershot expectations on Wednesday providing [...]
Is the consensus on central bank independence starting to fray? December 18, 2025 Across the globe, leaders like Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron are challenging institutional independence and exerting their influence over monetary policy – but they could come to regret it, says Helen Thomas For much of the past three decades, central bank independence has been treated as a settled question. Monetary policy was best left to [...]
London house prices slump following Budget chaos December 17, 2025 London house prices have fallen by more than two per cent year on year, as Budget chaos took its toll on a volatile housing market. The average house price in London for October was £547,000, down 2.4 per cent from the previous year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Property experts said this [...]
Interest rate cut likely after inflation undershoots expectations December 17, 2025 Inflation dropped far below market expectations in November, official data has shown, easing Bank of England doves’ nerves a day before a decision on whether to cut interest rates is revealed. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said inflation hit 3.2 per cent in the year to November, staying well above the Bank’s 2 per [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Inflation eases more than expected ahead of rate decision December 17, 2025 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. We’ve had the latest inflation data this morning, which has shown the consumer price index (CPI) rose by 3.2 per cent in the 12 months to November 2025. This eased from 3.6 per cent in October 2025. It also beats figures pencilled in by economists, [...]