University funding crisis spreads to wider economy September 16, 2025 UK universities are facing mounting funding crisis that is affecting the country’s wider economy – with regions like Wales and the North East more at risk. According to new analysis from Oxford Economics, universities added £80bn in gross value added (GVA) to the economy and supported 1.2m jobs in 2024, including staff directly employed by [...]
Firms continue to shed workers as jobs market deteriorates September 16, 2025 The collapse of the UK jobs market has deepened, according to official data, undermining the Labour government’s goal to boost employment. Firms continued to shed workers as the number of payrolled employees dropped by 6,000 in July, adding to a collapse of 142,000 over the year. Provisional estimates suggest there was a fall of 8,000 [...]
City AM Shadow MPC votes 8-1 to HOLD interest rates September 16, 2025 Leading economists from academia and the City have voted 8-1 for interest rates to be held at four per cent in City AM’s Shadow Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) ahead of the Bank of England’s own decision this week. Top analysts, who expressed views independently of their organisations, have said that stubborn inflation above the Bank [...]
Can Peter Kyle deliver a Budget lifeline for UK’s SMEs? September 15, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to deliver her Autumn Budget on 26 November, nearly a month later than usual, and eyes are on what she will do for the SMEs. With borrowing costs hitting their highest levels since 1998, and servicing the national debt topping £100bn a year, the government has been urged to maintain fiscal [...]
Britain faces ‘looming’ crisis without spending cut, says Mel Stride-backed report September 15, 2025 Britain faces a looming fiscal crisis without reigning in spending and boosting the competitiveness of the City, according to a new report. With annual per capita growth stagnating and public spending ballooning, the government needs to bring growth back to the economy and boost living standards, according to the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) report [...]
Food inflation to spike as suppliers can ‘no longer absorb’ costs, FDF warns September 15, 2025 Food and drink inflation could climb to 5.7% by the end of the year thanks to cost pressures on manufacturers “trickling down” to supermarket shelves, a leading industry body has warned. The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) said current prices were “steeper than anything in recent decades”. The group – whose members make a quarter [...]
Bank of England predicted to not cut interest rate until 2026 September 12, 2025 Interest rate cuts are unlikely to take place this year, according to some of the most dovish forecasters, with City analysts split on where they will settle given the UK’s battle against high inflation and low growth. The Bank of England is set to hold its next monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting next week, a [...]
Barclays boss: UK banks are taxed too much September 12, 2025 Ahead of the Autumn Budget, Barclays’ chief executive has called on the government to curb pay rises for public sector workers and to avoid increasing taxes on banks. Speaking to the Financial Times, CS Venkatakrishnan said “we need to find a way to curb wage inflation,” and emphasised the need to curb expenditure at the [...]
UK economy sees zero growth amid Labour’s summer troubles September 12, 2025 The UK economy failed to grow in July, according to official data, with the Labour government struggling to drive growth despite its core commitment to do so. The Labour government has doubled down on its “growth mission” by making a string of new economics-focused appointments across ministerial and advisory roles, and establishing a business-friendly board [...]
FTSE 100 Live: UK GDP flatlines, Big Technologies shares tumble after legal twist September 12, 2025 Good morning from the City AM liveblog team. UK GDP flatlined in July, latest figures from the ONS show, in another setback for the Chancellor in delivering on her pledge to grow the economy. The FTSE 100 is fighting through the noise as it opened above 9,300 this morning, rising by 1.2 per cent in [...]