Report reveals ‘staggering’ costs of economic fragmentation January 23, 2025 The hit would largely come through lower trade, reduced capital flows and lost economic efficiencies.
Weak UK sales pull Primark down despite international growth January 23, 2025 Lower sales in the UK and Ireland pulled Primark’s performance down in the last quarter of 2024 despite double-digit growth in countries like Spain, Portugal and the US. Primark’s parent company ABF Foods told markets this morning that sales in the UK and Ireland, which account for approximately 45 per cent of its market, declined [...]
UK economy: Consumers catch ‘January blues’ as confidence slumps January 23, 2025 Confidence in the health of the economy fell to its lowest level since the BRC started collecting data on the topic in March 2024.
Could the Bank of England push the UK into recession? January 23, 2025 As the Bank of England scrambles to unwind the disastrous effects of quantitative easing, the hidden costs of this policy are becoming clear, says Damian Pudner Quantitative easing (QE) has long been the Bank of England’s monetary policy nuclear option. Launched in 2009 to save a collapsing financial system, it was supercharged during the pandemic, [...]
Further tax rises ‘a good bet’ after Chancellor’s borrowing blow January 22, 2025 Borrowing in the month of December was at its third highest level since monthly records began back in 1997, excluding only the pandemic and 2009.
Bank of England: Goldman Sachs expects deep interest rate cuts January 22, 2025 Markets are significantly underestimating the chance that the Bank of England will have to step up the pace of cutting interest rates, Goldman Sachs has argued. Traders anticipate just two interest rate cuts this year with one more cut priced in for 2026, which would leave the benchmark Bank Rate at 4.0 per cent. It [...]
UK entrepreneurs have mixed views on Trump agenda January 22, 2025 Two thirds of British entrepreneurs see Donald Trump’s second term in office as “good for business” as it could provide opportunities for expansion and growth, but fears linger of the impact of US trade policy. Helm, a group of 400 UK entrepreneurs with a combined revenue of £8bn, found that while 66 per cent of [...]
London commuter towns named ‘financial resilience capitals’ of the UK January 22, 2025 From pension plans to retirement savings, new data has revealed the 'financial resilience capitals' of the UK.
The future is free market populism January 22, 2025 Javier Milei, Pierre Poilievre and, of course, Donald Trump are at the vanguard of a new movement for free-market populism gaining support across the world, says Fred de Fossard The inauguration of President Trump for his second term is the latest development in the trend of a new type of free-market populism gathering momentum across [...]
How much does tax really affect your decision making? January 22, 2025 From VAT on school fees to business taxes, we’re living through a live experiment with the effects of tax on people’s choices. Evidence suggests the results could be far from clear-cut, says Tim Sarson Last week, I was lucky enough to be on the panel for the Women in Tax network’s annual debate. The question [...]