News & Insight

Market Commentary

“The global economy has become more uncertain”   Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered the government’s Spring Statement on 26 March, with spending cuts taking centre stage – and no further tax rises announced. As had been widely expected, Ms Reeves announced further reductions to welfare spending within a package of reforms designed to raise £14bn by […]

Market Commentary

“We have to be quite careful at this point in how we calibrate our response”   Last week, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) held Bank Rate at 4.5%, a widely expected move but one that was more emphatically supported than analysts had predicted.   At its meeting on 19 March, eight MPC […]

Market Commentary

“The economy shrank a little in January but grew in the latest three months as a whole”   The UK economy shrank unexpectedly in January, according to official data released on Friday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). With a contraction of 0.1%, the economy fared worse at the start of 2025 than analysts […]

Market Commentary

“February’s figures highlight the delicate balance within the UK housing market”   The most recent House Price Index data from Halifax released on Friday showed an unexpected fall of 0.1% in February; a Reuters poll of economists had expected a 0.3% uptick in the month. Amanda Bryden, Head of Mortgages at Halifax said, “The typical […]

Market Commentary

A trade deal between the UK and US could be agreed “very quickly,” President Donald Trump said at a White House press conference with Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The President suggested the UK may avoid the tariffs imposed on other trading partners, raising hopes of a favourable agreement. The Prime Minister presented President Trump with […]

Market Commentary

The latest inflation figures released last Wednesday by the Office for National Statistics showed an unexpected surge, with the headline rate climbing to 3% in January from December’s 2.5%, marking the highest level in nearly a year. This increase surpassed the Bank of England’s (BoE) 2% target and exceeded economists’ forecasts of a rise to […]

Market Commentary

The latest UK growth data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows the economy grew by 0.1% in the fourth quarter of last year, exceeding expectations. A Reuters poll of economists had forecast that gross domestic product (GDP) would shrink by 0.1% in the period. The main contributor to GDP growth was the service sector, […]

Market Commentary

In their latest meeting on 6 February, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted by a 7 to 2 majority to cut Bank Rate by 0.25 percentage points to 4.5%, in a widely expected move. The two dissenting voices wished to reduce Bank Rate by 0.5 percentage points to 4.25%. For the seven members favouring the […]

Market Commentary

Chancellor Rachel Reeves made a series of major announcements in a highly anticipated speech last Wednesday at Siemens Healthineers in Oxfordshire. Setting out more plans to boost growth, Ms Reeves unveiled fresh promises for infrastructure and redevelopment projects. “We can do so much better,” Ms Reeves remarked. “Low growth is not our destiny… but growth […]

Market Commentary

The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos wrapped up on Friday after an eventful week. Coinciding with the inauguration of Donald Trump, the talking shop for world leaders and business bosses featured prominent discussion around trade, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and climate action. Trade was, unsurprisingly, a hot topic, against the backdrop of new […]

Market Commentary

The global economy is projected to expand by just 2.7% in 2025 and 2026, according to a report released last week by the World Bank, with developing countries set to bear the brunt of geopolitical and economic headwinds. By growing at the same pace as in 2024, the world economy would flatline at its joint […]

Market Commentary

UK consumer card spending was flat in December 2024, according to a report released last week by Barclays Bank. With year-on-year growth at 0.0%, consumer card spending lags significantly behind the latest inflation figure of 2.6%. The report, which combines millions of customer transactions with consumer research, found that essential spending was the main category […]