Government borrowing in March dwarfs expectations April 23, 2025 Government borrowing overshot expectations as it hit £16.4bn in March, official data has revealed. Ballooning levels of borrowing will likely come as a blow to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who is under pressure to keep public finances in balance. Reeves left herself £9.9bn at last month’s Spring Statement as she made around £14bn of cuts, mainly [...]
Leicester City stars face up to 50 per cent wage cuts after relegation April 23, 2025 Leicester City’s players are facing wage cuts of up to 50 per cent next season following their relegation from the Premier League. Leicester have acted to protect themselves when offering contracts to new players in recent years having also been relegated two seasons ago, with recent arrivals agreeing to pay cuts of between 35 and [...]
If the ONS can’t measure productivity, how are we meant to improve it? April 23, 2025 The ONS's shortcomings are far from trivial, its bad maths is holding back the UK economy, writes Paul Ormerod.
IMF slashes UK growth forecast as tariffs create ‘significant slowdown’ April 22, 2025 The IMF has downgraded its UK growth forecast by 0.5 per cent this year as President Donald Trump’s trade war brings global tariff rates to “centennial highs”. The IMF said the UK economy would grow by 1.1 per cent growth this year, reflecting leading forecasters’ worries about the ongoing global trade war between US and [...]
Reeves’ tax rise to push up inflation, BoE’s Megan Greene warns April 22, 2025 Rachel Reeves’ national insurance tax rise will push up inflation and lead to a “shake-up” of the labour market, Bank of England rate-setter Megan Greene has warned. In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Greene said she was particularly concerned about “weakness in output” for the best part of a year as she suggested Reeves’ tax [...]
Pound on best run since 1971 as FTSE 100 claws back gains April 22, 2025 The pound and the FTSE 100 continued their strong runs on Tuesday on the back of US instability. Sterling was on track for its 11th day of gains, which would be its longest streak since January 1971 – when the currency switched to the decimal system. It was up 0.6 per cent to $1.34 against [...]
Mortgage completions surged 50 per cent in March amid race to swerve stamp duty April 21, 2025 Mortgage completions have risen to their highest level since September as buyers rushed to avoid higher property taxes. Completions in March jumped 70 per cent compared to February for first-time buyers, according to Barclays, ahead of a change to stamp duty rates in April. “We experienced a blockbuster month for completions in March, as buyers [...]
UK firms put the brakes on investment plans post tariffs, survey finds April 19, 2025 Three quarters of UK manufacturing and logistics firms are bracing for a hit from US tariffs, with many putting the brakes on investment plans in a blow to the Government’s growth ambitions, new data reveals. Larger businesses are more likely to be expecting a squeeze from new global trade policy, according to a survey carried [...]
Staff at small businesses suffer falling wages April 18, 2025 Staff at small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) saw their wages fall at the end of March, new analysis suggests, as firms wrestled to absorb the impact of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ national insurance tax hikes. Data released by the Office for National Statistics this week suggested that wage growth across the wider UK economy has exceeded five [...]
Easter getaway disruption expected on railways, roads and at Gatwick April 18, 2025 Millions of people are set to face disruption to their Easter travel plans this weekend due to major rail engineering works, strike action, heavy traffic and possible flooding. More than 300 engineering projects will be carried out by Network Rail across Britain between Good Friday and Easter Monday, prompting warnings for passengers to check their [...]