UK Economics

1. In the three months leading up to January, wage growth in the UK remained sluggish, supporting the Bank of England’s assessment that inflationary pressures were decreasing in the economy. Average earnings, including bonuses, increased 5.6% over the time compared to the same period last year, according to the Office for National Statistics. This is a decrease from the 5.8% annual growth rate in the three months leading up to December. 
2. The UK economy returned to growth in January helped by the expansion of the services sector, following a technical recession in the second half of 2023. Gross domestic product rose 0.2% between December last year and January, driven by a 0.2% expansion in the services sector according to the ONS.
3. Negotiations on a UK-India trade agreement – which were initially slated to wrap up before Diwali in October 2022 – have been postponed until after India’s general election later this spring. During a conversation this week with his Indian counterpart, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak emphasised that the talks needed to produce “an ambitious outcome on goods and services”.
4. In an effort to promote communal ownership, the Scottish government has adopted land reform legislation that gives ministers the authority to interfere in the sale of estates larger than 1,000 hectares. The largest reform package in recent memory, according to the ruling Scottish National party, aims to “revolutionise land ownership in Scotland.”

World Economics

1. The Financial Times disclosed that TikTok’s US sales reached $16 billion in 2023, emphasising the scope of the video app’s American aspirations at a time when US Congress is exerting pressure on its Chinese owner, ByteDance, which is poised to overtake all other social media companies globally in terms of sales.
2. A survey of academic economists predicts that the US Federal Reserve will have to maintain high interest rates for longer than markets and central bankers anticipate. As the Fed fights to win the war on inflation, over two-thirds of respondents to an FT-Chicago Booth survey believe the Fed will make two or fewer cuts this year.
3. As Nigeria’s economic and security situation worsens, the country has seen a surge of violent upheaval over food, which has raised concerns about widespread famine and a breakdown in law and order in the most populous country in Africa.
4. Bitcoin has subsequently fallen from its record high of $73,803 earlier this week, but more than $10 billion has been invested by a group of recently licensed US spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds, which are issued by prominent Wall Street players including BlackRock, the largest asset management firm in the world. 

UK Politics

1. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under pressure over his ties with Frank Hester, a Conservative Party donor currently embroiled in a race row. Mr Hester, who donated £10 million, has allegedly said that ex-Labour MP Dianne Abbott made him want to “hate all black people.”
2. Vaughan Gething is set to become the First Minister of Wales following his victorious campaign in the Welsh Labour party’s leadership election. Mr Gething will become the country’s first black leader and will take office on 20 March.
3. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has ruled out the possibility of holding the general election in May, ending months of speculation. The decision has enabled Mr Sunak (who is obligated to call for a general election by next January) to finally schedule a meeting with the European Political Community this summer.
4. Somerset MP James Heappey has joined the ranks of Conservative MPs stepping down after the upcoming general election. Mr Heappey, who confirmed his resignation on 15 March, has become the 65th Tory MP to stand down at the next election. 

World Politics

1. On 11 March, Haiti Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced his resignation following weeks of mounting pressure. Mr Henry, who has led the Caribbean country on a supposedly interim basis since July 2021, has controversially postponed elections on numerous occasions citing that law and order must be restored first.
2. On 12 March, both Donald Trump and Joe Biden secured enough delegates to clinch their parties’ presidential nominations, thereby setting up a rematch of the 2020 election.
3. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Nethanyahu has reaffirmed his position on a potential Rafah invasion despite international criticism. Rafah, a city in the southern Gaza strip, has been filled with more than a million displaced Palestinian people since the war began in October 2023.
4. Millions of voters in Russia have flocked to the polls to cast their votes in this year’s presidential election despite reports of electoral fudging. President Vladimir Putin, who is seeking a fifth term in office, has been accused of inducing severe democratic backsliding in the country after the alleged killing of staunch critic Alexei Navalny in February.

Written by Keshav Hajarnavis and Shreyas Veturi