In recent months, official interest rates have been cut worldwide as inflation has fallen sharply from the peak of over 9% following the end of the Pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which drove up global food and energy prices, see chart 1. Global price inflation has fallen to the rates before the Pandemic and …
Immediate reaction to the October Budget, 2024
This is the first Labour Budget since 2010, and the first by a woman in UK history. It is aimed at raising economic growth in the long run, funded by tax rises and increased borrowing in the short term. The tax rises mainly came from employers’ National Insurance contributions and employers’ contributions to pensions, which …
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A tale of two interest rate decisions
The US Federal Reserve or Fed, and the UK Central Bank or the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC,) both made the decision on whether to cut interest rates on the same day, although, given the time difference, it happened at different points. The US Fed cut interest rates by ½% to a range of 4.75% to …