An election Budget that does not address UK challenges

It’s hard to find anything to like in the Autumn Statement delivered by Jeremy Hunt. While on the surface, the 2% cut in National Insurance contributions seems like a good idea, it looks worse the more you examine what it means and its implications. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) references to the ‘headroom’ to …

Economic data show a turning point has been reached in the cycle

With inflation falling sharply in the US, the eurozone, and the UK, there is no longer a debate about whether the peak in interest rates has been reached. Instead, there is a consensus about rate cuts being the next move, not rate rises and about when that will happen, not if. Financial markets are now …

Bank of England base rate on hold, but cuts could be coming sooner than it forecasts

As expected, the Bank of England left interest rates on hold at its November quarterly meeting. Three members were still calling for rate hikes of a ¼ of one per cent even though the Bank of England lowered its forecast for GDP growth in 2024 from half a per cent to zero and its forecast …