Category archives: News in Review

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced spending cuts but no tax increases, aiming to save £14bn by 2029/30  The UK growth forecast was revised to 1% in 2025, with improvements expected later in the decade  UK retail sales fell for a sixth month and looming US tariffs threaten the car industry  “The global economy has become more […]

“We have to be quite careful at this point in how we calibrate our response”  Last week, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) held Bank Rate at 4.5%, a widely expected move but one that was more emphatically supported than analysts had predicted.  At its meeting on 19 March, eight MPC members voted […]

“The economy shrank a little in January but grew in the latest three months as a whole”  The UK economy shrank unexpectedly in January, according to official data released on Friday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). With a contraction of 0.1%, the economy fared worse at the start of 2025 than analysts had […]

“February’s figures highlight the delicate balance within the UK housing market”  The most recent House Price Index data from Halifax released on Friday showed an unexpected fall of 0.1% in February; a Reuters poll of economists had expected a 0.3% uptick in the month.  Amanda Bryden, Head of Mortgages at Halifax said, “The typical UK […]

“Getting more money in people’s pockets is my number one mission”  The latest inflation figures released last Wednesday by the Office for National Statistics showed an unexpected surge, with the headline rate climbing to 3% in January from December’s 2.5%, marking the highest level in nearly a year. This increase surpassed the Bank of England’s […]

“Low growth is not our destiny… but growth will not come without a fight”  Chancellor Rachel Reeves made a series of major announcements in a highly anticipated speech last Wednesday at Siemens Healthineers in Oxfordshire. Setting out more plans to boost growth, Ms Reeves unveiled fresh promises for infrastructure and redevelopment projects. “We can do […]

The World Economic Forum highlighted US-China trade friction amidst calls for “win-win”         solutions  UK consumer confidence hits -22 as economic sentiment worsens across all measures  Shoreditch leads in the London rental market with 6.6% growth, underscoring robust market trends  “Believe in yourself and most importantly, tell others that you do”  The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) […]

“In a world shaped by policy uncertainty and trade tensions, developing economies will need bold and far-reaching policies”  The global economy is projected to expand by just 2.7% in 2025 and 2026, according to a report released last week by the World Bank, with developing countries set to bear the brunt of geopolitical and economic […]

“The underlying pace of housing market activity is likely to continue to strengthen gradually as affordability constraints ease”  House prices increased by 4.7% over the year to December 2024, to finish only slightly below an all-time high, according to new data released last week by Nationwide Building Society. Having accelerated by 0.7% month-on-month, the average […]

“Housing affordability has improved over the past year, thanks to stabilising property prices, strong wage growth, and easing interest rates”  Buying a home is becoming more affordable relative to income, according to the latest Halifax           Affordability Review released last Thursday, as the house price to income ratio continues to fall.  Strong wage growth combined with […]