Inflation drop makes Bank of England early Christmas present to Reeves almost a certainty Monetary policy committee, cautious in recent months, expected to respond with cut in interest rates
UK inflation falls sharply to 3.2% amid slowdown in food price rises Drop in November annual rate adds to case for Bank of England cut to interest rates on Thursday
Christmas dinner and festive treats up to 70% more expensive, reports Which? Price of turkey jumps as much as £15 compared with 2024, while chocolate has steepest mark-up
Unemployment rises in US and UK, adding to pressure to cut interest rates – as it happened Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as US non-farm payrolls rise by 64,000 in November but shrink by 105,000 in October
UK unemployment rose to four-year high of 5.1% before budget October figure from ONS suggests employers laid off workers, as earnings growth excluding bonuses fell
UK and South Korea sign new trade deal aimed at cars, salmon and Guinness Government says arrangement will bring in extra £400m on top of more than £15bn of existing annual trade with Korea
Rishi Sunak tells Covid inquiry he was worried about UK’s ability to fund itself Reflecting on chaos of early pandemic, former chancellor said it was ‘acutely stressful’ to see rising interest bill on government bonds
Brighton’s struggling independent stores: ‘The nation of shopkeepers will go on the dole’ City’s small shops are reaching tipping point amid higher business rates, staff costs and big chains eager to move in
Why universal basic income still can’t meet the challenges of an AI economy Andrew Yang’s revived pitch suits the automation debate, but UBI can’t fix inequalities concentrated tech wealth drives
How many more times will the Bank of England rescue Rachel Reeves? The City expects a cut in interest rates on Thursday but economic prospects for 2026 complicate the picture
Labour is procrastinating over policy as UK’s economy goes backwards New business rates regime that is poised to hit pubs and hotels is latest example of hasty decision-making
UK politics: Trump talks ‘complete nonsense’ about crime in London, says Met police commissioner – as it happened Mark Rowley says capital is a safe city, and claims of no-go areas are ‘completely false’
December cut to UK interest rates ‘nailed on’ after economy shrinks unexpectedly by 0.1% in October – as it happened Disappointing UK GDP report shows economy contracted by 0.1% in both September and October
UK economy shrank unexpectedly before budget, data shows GDP fell by 0.1% in October as activity failed to regain momentum after cyber-attack on Jaguar Land Rover
Health and safety rules holding UK infrastructure back, says writer of government report Exclusive: John Fingleton says regulators need to change their attitude to risk to end the country’s economic stagnation