Category archives: News in Review

“Employers are keen to re-build following an incredibly turbulent 18 months for business” With double jabbed people, as well as those aged under 18 in England and Northern Ireland, no longer legally required to self-isolate if they are identified as a close contact of a positive COVID-19 case, many will be breathing a sigh of relief, not least businesses […]

‘It’s time we recognised the quality that other countries see in the UK’ In an open letter to UK institutional investors last week, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak urged pension schemes to invest more of savers’ money into UK assets, to help drive the economic recovery and boost long-term growth prospects. They believe the country needs […]

“Our economy is rebounding faster than initially expected” Last week saw the International Monetary Fund (IMF) release its latest assessment of the global economy. Among the headline stories was a sharp increase to this year’s UK growth forecast, with the renowned international soothsayer now predicting a 7% expansion – 1.7 percentage points higher than its […]

“The current approach to self-isolation is closing down the economy” During a week which saw the delayed Tokyo Olympics finally get underway, the news agenda on these shores was largely dominated by the so-called ‘pingdemic’. After it was revealed that almost 620,000 alerts were sent to Test and Trace app users in England and Wales […]

“With every day that goes by our economy is slowly and cautiously picking itself up off the floor” Ahead of so-called ‘Freedom Day’ on Monday, Boris Johnson urged people to exercise caution as most restrictions on social contact were lifted in England. With the Prime Minister and Health Secretary currently isolating, and UK daily infections […]

“We think now is the right moment to proceed” In Monday’s Downing Street briefing, Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed that almost all remaining coronavirus restrictions will lift on Monday 19 July, despite cases and hospital admissions rising, as it was felt that a further delay could risk a bigger surge in the autumn. Although stating […]

“We must take a careful and a balanced decision” In a Downing Street briefing on Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said ministers will make a final decision on 12 July, whether step four of restriction easing would happen as planned on 19 July. Most legal restrictions look set to be scrapped, with face masks no longer […]

‘The Committee judges that UK inflation expectations remain well anchored’ Last week, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), unanimously voted to maintain base rates at an all-time low of 0.1%. In a statement released on Thursday, the MPC shrugged off concerns over a pick-up in inflation, saying its expectation is that ‘the economy […]

“There is pent-up demand and ambition across many sectors” Last Friday, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) published its latest economic forecast, which predicts UK GDP growth is set to bounce back to pre-COVID levels by the end of the year, despite the four-week delay in lifting all lockdown restrictions. The industry body said the […]

‘Shared beliefs and shared responsibilities are the bedrock of leadership and prosperity’ The G7 Summit in Cornwall dominated headlines over the weekend, with leaders of the ‘Group of Seven’ (UK, US, Canada, Germany, France, Italy and Japan) meeting to discuss global worldwide issues, including vaccination programmes, economic recovery and climate change. The Prime Minister hosted the […]