Category archives: News in Review

“The UK economy has lost momentum” New data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that the UK economy flatlined in February as strikes by public sector workers weighed on growth. Despite consensus estimates from a poll of economists forecasting a 0.1% increase in the month. The flat month-on-month performance can be attributed to […]

“Now is not the time for complacency” Speaking at an event last week, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva outlined the financial agency’s global growth expectations for 2023. The Fund believe, that despite labour market resilience and strengthening consumer demand, economic growth will drop below 3% this year and remain at […]

“There’s underlying resilience in the UK economy” On Friday, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revised its Q4 2022 data showing that the UK economy performed better than previously estimated. UK gross domestic product (GDP) is now estimated to have increased by 0.1% in the final quarter, up from the previous estimate of no growth. […]

“We were really a bit on a knife edge as to whether there would be a recession… but I’m a bit more optimistic now” Last Wednesday, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to increase Bank Rate to 4.25%, the highest level for 14 years. Seven members of the committee opted for a […]

 “Today we build for the future” Jeremy Hunt delivered his first Budget last Wednesday, billing it as “A Budget for Growth.” The Chancellor kicked off his statement with a commentary of the latest economic projections from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). Firstly, focusing on inflation, the OBR data suggests that inflation will fall from […]

 “Confidence is returning” UK gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.3% in January, according to the latest official figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Friday. Higher school attendance and the return of Premier League football helped growth return after a 0.5% contraction in December, though quarterly figures show that the economy […]

 “High streets continue to show the biggest improvement” Footfall in UK retail stores bounced back in February 2023 from the levels recorded a year earlier, according to the latest data released on Friday by the British Retail Consortium (BRC). In total, footfall increased by 10.4% on an annual basis, but fell by 2.1% month-on-month. Specifically, […]

“Consumers have suddenly shown more optimism about the state of their personal finances and the general economic situation” On Friday, the latest release of GfK’s Consumer Confidence Index revealed a month-on-month improvement in consumer sentiment. In February 2023, total confidence was -38, seven points higher on a monthly basis. All five measures that make up […]

“The peak may have started to pass but prices have settled at a much higher level than two years ago” Last Wednesday, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released its latest UK inflation figures, which revealed the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 10.1% in the year to January. This increase is below the figure […]

“Our economy is more resilient than many feared… However, we are not out the woods yet” The UK has narrowly avoided entering a recession by the slimmest of margins, as figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show the economy had zero growth in the last three months of 2022. The official figures for […]