Inflation eases to three per cent boosting interest rate cut hopes February 18, 2026 Inflation fell to its lowest level in nearly a year last month, new figures show, giving a further boost to hopes that the Bank of England will cut interest rates in March. The headline rate dipped to 3.0 per cent in January, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), down from 3.4 per cent [...]
UK house prices stall in February after record January surge February 16, 2026 The average asking price of a house dipped by just £12 in February, pausing after the largest January jump recorded in Rightmove’s 25-year history. New listings coming to market this month are priced at an average of £368,019, compared with £368,031 in January, according to the property giant. The marginal month-on-month change follows a £9,893 [...]
Barratt Redrow and MJ Gleeson join house builder call for help: What is going on? February 11, 2026 Over the past few months, a number of house builders have called for help, after positive results were offset by the expectation that the state of the housing market would impact further growth. The builders have chorused the same warning to the government and wider property sector that further buyer recovery and support is needed [...]
Budget documents accessed thousands of times before release February 10, 2026 The budget was accessed nearly 25,000 times before its formal release, according to an official report into the leak, raising questions over the data handling practices of the UK’s fiscal watchdog. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said it had identified at least 24,701 successful downloads of the document, compared to the 43 spotted in [...]
Bank of England raises alarm on unemployment as interest rates unchanged February 5, 2026 The Bank of England has held interest rates but policymakers warned that the spiralling unemployment rate and weak growth was weighing down on price growth. In its decision on Thursday, the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee voted 5-4 to leave interest rates at 3.75 per cent. But economists warned that unemployment could jump higher over the [...]
Inflation expected to inch back up due to travel rush January 19, 2026 Inflation is expected to edge back up as higher airfares and tobacco prices are squeezing British families’ budgets and adding to pressures on the cost of living. A Bloomberg poll of economists has predicted consumer price index (CPI) inflation to hit 3.3 per cent rate for the year to December, which would be higher than [...]
Majestic Wine blames Reeves’ tax hikes as profit slashed January 7, 2026 Majestic Wine has blamed Rachel Reeves and her tax policies for its profit almost slashing in half during its latest financial year. The Watford-based business said the “economic environment became more challenging” during the 12 months to 31 March, 2025, especially after the general election and the Chancellor’s first Budget. The chain added that these [...]
Housing market ended 2025 on ‘softer note’ after ‘resilient’ year January 2, 2026 The UK housing market rounded off 2025 on a softer note after remaining “resilient” through a volatile year, according to Nationwide’s latest house price index. Annual house price growth slowed to 0.6 per cent in December from 1.8 per cent in November, with a 0.4 per cent fall in prices. This took the average UK [...]
‘Spectre of recession’ looms with growth set to dim in 2026 December 22, 2025 The government is facing a critical warning over the looming “spectre of recession” after economic growth stalled in the second half of 2025 and is expected to wane in the new year. On Monday, fresh figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) downgraded the economy’s second quarter expansion to a sluggish 0.2 per cent [...]
Private sector slump to drag on to Spring 2026, businesses say December 22, 2025 UK business leaders have warned that the sharp downturn in the private sector is likely to continue until Spring 2026, after firms put plans for future investment on ice in the run-up to the Labour government’s Autumn Budget. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) anticipates private sector output to fall in the fourth quarter after [...]