UK Economics UK inflation fell less than expected from 3.4% in February to 3.2% in March. While the rate of inflation has dropped below the US for the first time in two years, traders and economists are now more cautious about the prospect of interest rate cuts. Jeremy Hunt voiced his ambition to shave an additional 2p off national insurance by September in a pre-election … Continue reading Easter Roundup
UK Economics 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 … Continue reading News Briefing – 18/03/2024
UK Economics On 6 March the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered his Spring Budget for 2024. The Labour party described it as a shameless bid for Tory re-election and a “con”, claiming that it would leave many people worse off. The main rate of National Insurance will be cut by 2p from 10% – 8% with effect from 6 April 2024. This is in addition to … Continue reading News Briefing – 10/03/2024
We’ve summarised the key news stories from over the Christmas break into a briefing to get you up to date with everything that has happened. You can subscribe to receive the briefing in your inbox each week using the button below. UK Economics The rate of inflation in the UK fell in November to 3.9%, down from 4.5%, but surprisingly rose slightly in December to … Continue reading Christmas News Roundup
UK Economics A new methodology from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for including rental prices into UK statistics points will be used in official inflation data from March 2024. The new methodology will increase the number of rental prices used to produce the figures to around 500,000 per year. Data released by mortgage provider Nationwide has revealed that house prices unexpectedly rose again in November, … Continue reading News Briefing – 12/12/2023
UK Economics Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered “the largest business tax cut in modern Britain”, worth £18bn, in his Autumn Budget; businesses now permanently have access to “full expensing”, the act of deducting the amount spent on capital from taxable profits. National Insurance rates on incomes below £50,250 were cut, among other taxes. The UK Supreme Court ruled that Deliveroo riders were not workers in an … Continue reading News Briefing – 27/11/2023
UK Economics Rishi Sunak officially declared that he has met his pledge to halve the rate of inflation by year end. The consumer prices index was 10.7% at the beginning of 2023, but it fell to 4.6% in September. Inflation is now at its lowest point since October 2021. Contrary to economists’ predictions of a 0.3% rise, UK retail sales volumes fell 0.3% in October, … Continue reading News Briefing – 21/11/2023
UK Economics Britain’s economy stagnated in the third quarter, compared to a growth of 0.2% in the three months to June. High interest rates slowed investment, which fell by 4.2%. The Bank of England expects no growth in 2024. Jeremy Hunt has switched his stance on corporation tax cuts, from “virtually impossible” in September to “most important”. The Office for National Statistics is planning to … Continue reading News Briefing – 13/11/2023
UK Economics Britain hosted the first global artificial-intelligence summit at Bletchley Park. Attendees included Kamala Harris, the American Vice-President, Wu Zhaohui, China’s vice-minister of science and technology, and Elon Musk. The conference aimed to set out international rules for the safe and responsible development of AI. The Bank of England held interest rates at 5.25%, a 15 year high, warning that policy would stay tight … Continue reading News Briefing – 10/11/2023
This Week: Israelis woke on October 7th, Simchat Torah and Shemenj Atzeret, two Jewish festivals, to attacks from Hamas militants. The fortified ‘smart border’ fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip had been breached by bulldozers with explosives and fighters who flew over using motorised gliders, in what has been described as a major Israeli intelligence failure. At least 700 people are reported killed (including … Continue reading News Briefing – 09/10/2023
