Chief Economist’s Weekly Brief – UK plc in the red

Will it?  Won’t it?  On Friday we learned that, after delivering a strong first quarter performance, UK GDP contracted by 0.2% in the three months to June.  This marks the first outright decline in economic activity since 2012 and puts the UK uncomfortably close to ‘technical recession’ territory just as global growth is faltering.

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Chief Economist’s Weekly Brief – Deal or no deal?

US/Sino trade tensions are rising. US President Trump’s announcement of new tariffs on Chinese imports has prompted threats of retaliation by China, posing downside risks to the global economy as supply chains are disrupt and business sentiment suffers. Meanwhile, UK Q1 GDP data highlights the resilience of the UK economy.

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Chief Economist’s Weekly Brief – If at first you don’t succeed

Last week’s series of votes saw the Withdrawal Agreement defeated for a second time, a no deal exit voted down and an instruction to seek a delay to the Article 50 deadline of 29th March passed. The length of the delay is still unclear. If the Withdrawal Agreement passes this week it could be for a couple of months, if not a much longer deadline is possible.
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Chief Economist’s Weekly Brief – Wait and see

The first full post-referendum week was nothing if not eventful. Financial markets were volatile and uncertainty about economic policy has jumped. We await tomorrow’s publication of the Financial Stability Report and yet another opportunity for the Bank of England’s policy makers to offer their views. Continue reading