Office for National Statistics chief resigns over ‘health issues’ May 9, 2025 The head of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has resigned because “ongoing health issues” mean he could not give the organisation the “full commitment” required to drive it forward. Sir Ian Diamond, who was appointed the UK’s national statistician in 2019, has stepped down with immediate effect, the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) said in [...]
Analysis: What is in the US-UK trade deal and what does it mean? May 8, 2025 The US administration has offered the UK its first trade deal since President Trump turned global trade on its head last month. The UK government will see the deal as a win, at least symbolically, while Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey hailed news of a trade deal as “excellent”. Chancellor Rachel Reeves said reducing [...]
Interest rate cut hopes fade after Bank of England decision May 8, 2025 City investors have lowered expectations of multiple interest rate cuts later in the year after the Bank of England decided to reduce rates to 4.25 per cent. Prior to the Bank’s decision on Thursday at 12.02 pm, markets priced in around three more cuts this year in predictions that would take interest rates to 3.5 [...]
Firms will have to ‘train British workers’ under immigration plans May 8, 2025 UK firms will reportedly have to train British workers if they wish to hire staff from abroad as part of government efforts to lessen the economy’s reliance on mass immigration. Firms have lowered expectations for investment in training, according to a number of recent surveys, given the UK’s bleak economic outlook for the year ahead. [...]
Week in Business: Why Britain needs reform May 8, 2025 In light of current difficulties and long-term challenges, the UK economy needs a dose of radical reform - but who will have that conversation?
Only radical thinking can break Britain out of its doom loop May 8, 2025 While the lucky few left Tuesday night’s City PM Awards with a gleaming trophy, the evening’s other takeaway came in the form of a stimulating and provocative speech by Andy Haldane. The former Bank of England Chief Economist said that two decades of economic and social shocks – from the financial crash and subsequent Euro [...]
Andy Haldane: Government’s bid to cut red tape ‘has little chance of success’ May 7, 2025 The government’s call for regulators to slash red tape “has little chance of success” unless watchdogs’ mandates are changed in law, according to the Bank of England’s former Chief Economist Andy Haldane. Speaking at the City PM Awards in London’s Guildhall, Haldane criticised the government’s policy of seeking regulatory reform “via exhortation and press release” [...]
Fed expected to hold interest rates and vex Trump May 7, 2025 The US Federal Reserve will not bring interest rates down until July, Goldman Sachs has predicted, in what may spark a fresh conflict between President Trump and Fed chair Jerome Powell. The world’s most powerful central bank has held back from making interest rate cuts due to a foggy outlook on what a trade war [...]
UK construction crumbles in April as ‘bumpy ride’ continues May 7, 2025 UK construction endured another month of collapsing output in April, new research has suggested, in signs that a turnaround in the sector is still distant. The sector has now seen a decline in output over four consecutive months, according to S&P Global’s newest purchasing managers’ index (PMI). Civil engineering remained the weakest area of construction [...]
What a trade deal with India means for the UK May 7, 2025 The UK government is heralding a “new era” for British business: after three years of negotiations, a free trade agreement has been signed with India. This is the third agreement the UK has brokered since Brexit and it is also the biggest of them all, given India is the largest single economy that the UK [...]
