Introduction In a month where the Middle East conflict rumbled on without conclusion, there was one major economic change announced in mid-September. The Fed hiked interest rates by 0.25%, the first increase since 2023. Whilst the Bank of England held, the European and Japanese Central Banks also raised their rates. Andy Burnham used his platform […]
The number of payrolled employees in the UK fell by 101,000, or 0.3%, in the year to July 2026, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). An early estimate for August put the total at 30.2 million, 145,000 lower than a year earlier, though the ONS said that figure is provisional and likely to […]
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted by six to three to hold Bank Rate at 3.75%, the Bank announced on 17 September. The Bank said conflict in the Middle East had pushed energy prices higher since its July forecast, with the spot prices of Brent crude oil and UK wholesale gas up […]
Savers took £22.4bn in taxable payments from their pensions in the 2025-26 tax year, up from £18.6bn the year before and £15.3bn in 2023-24, according to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). The figures cover withdrawals under the pension freedoms, which since 2015 have let people aged 55 and over draw on their pension pots as […]