Investment Week (July 19)
“UK retail sales volumes dropped by 1.2% in June,” marking a reversal of May’s stronger figures. Retailers are blaming “election uncertainty, along with poor weather and low footfall.” On the plus side, however, “falling UK wage growth boosts chances of August rate cut across most sectors.”
Tags: Election uncertainty, Footfall, June, May, Poor weather, Rate cut, Retail sales, Retailers, Reversal, UK, Volumes, Wage growth
The Economist (July 5)
“The coalition that Boris Johnson built in 2019, on a promise to ‘get Brexit done,’ has exploded. Labour cut deep into Conservative territory” in “one of the most successful corporate turnarounds in British political history,” reducing the Conservative Party to just 126 seats. “Labour’s landslide victory will turn politics on its head. But even with a majority this big, running bad-tempered Britain will not be easy.”
Tags: 2019, Bad-tempered, Brexit, Conservative Party, Exploded, Johnson, Labour, Landslide victory, Political history, Successful, Turnaround, UK
Financial Times (May 10)
“The UK economy has exited last year’s technical recession with faster than expected growth of 0.6 per cent for the first quarter.” This beat the BoE forecast and marked the fastest quarter-on-quarter growth since 2021. Growth was “driven by a 0.7 per cent increase in services output, suggesting stronger consumer activity as inflation fell. Manufacturing output grew 1.4 per cent, driven by car production which has grown for six consecutive quarters.”
Tags: 0.6%, 2021, BOE, Car production, Consumer activity, Economy, Expected, Fastest, Forecast, Growth, Inflation, Manufacturing, Q1, Services, Technical recession, UK
Investment Week (April 26)
“Managers have expressed confidence in the performance of sterling and its future potential, but the uncertainty surrounding the UK and global economies, as well as the upcoming general election, could pose headwinds to the asset’s performance.”
Tags: Asset, Confidence, Future, General election, Global economies, Headwinds, Managers, Performance, Potential, Sterling, UK, Uncertainty
The Guardian (March 13)
“The early signals show that the UK is on track to emerge from a minor recession within months, powered by a recovery in consumer spending amid resilient pay growth and receding inflation. But that isn’t to say the economy is racing ahead, or that a renaissance in living standards awaits…. The broader picture is still one of relative stagnation.”
Tags: Consumer spending, Economy, Emerge, Pay growth, Receding inflation, Recession, Recovery, Resilient, Signals, Stagnation, UK
Business Insider (February 16)
“The US economy managed to shake off Wall Street’s gloomy forecasts and dodge a long-predicted slump last year — but the same can’t be said for two other members of the G7.” Both the UK and Japan entered technical recessions based on data released Thursday showing each nation’s GDP fell during both of the two last quarters in 2023.
Tags: 2023, Economy, Fell, Forecasts, G7, GDP, Japan, Predicted, Slump, Technical recessions, U.S., UK, Wall Street
WARC (January 4)
“Quite simply, most advertisers just aren’t ready for the world that comes next.” Google has begun its six-month phase out of tracking cookies. “Nearly three-quarters (73%) of UK marketers are not well prepared for the withdrawal of third-party cookies, while a majority (58%) of global marketing leaders lack a working understanding of how changing privacy regulations will affect their work.” Google’s move “will fire the starting gun on a deep process of adaptation across the online ecosystem.”
Tags: Adaptation, Advertisers, Google, Marketers, Online ecosystem, Prepared, Privacy regulations, Process, Tracking cookies, UK, Withdrawal
Financial Times (December 23)
“The UK economy shrank slightly in the third quarter.” Revised figures “highlight the country’s struggle to shake off its low-growth performance and raise the risk of a technical recession…. The UK economy is stuck in a lacklustre state as it struggles with high borrowing costs and the legacy of the worst inflationary upsurge for a generation.”
Tags: Borrowing costs, Economy, Growth, Lacklustre, Q3, Revised, Risk, Struggle, Technical recession, UK
CNN (November 15)
Since peaking above 10% in January, “UK inflation plunged to its lowest level in two years in October, allowing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to declare victory on his pledge to halve the rate of price increases this year.” However, “Sunak’s second pledge to voters — to get the economy growing — is looking increasingly out of reach.” During the three month’s ended in September, GDP managed “zero growth… compared with the previous quarter, when it grew by a measly 0.2%.”
Tags: 10%, Economy, Inflation, January, Lowest level, October, Peaking, Pledge, Plunged, Price increases, Sunak, UK
Reuters (September 8)
“Britain’s shaky ambitions to be the ‘Saudi Arabia of wind’ now stand at a blustery crossroads. Developers had been warning for months that the UK’s latest offshore wind auction, divulged on Friday, would receive no takers. Now that it’s happened, it may spur much-need action…. The very real prospect of zero wind schemes ought to be the kick up the backside UK politicians need to make the terms more appealing.”
Tags: Ambitions, Auction, Blustery, Crossroads, Developers, Offshore, Saudi Arabia, Shaky, UK, Warning, Wind, Zero wind schemes
