UK faces years of anaemic growth amid tax and regulation burden, says Next

Bosses at the clothing and homeware chain Next are forecasting years of “anaemic” growth across the UK, with the retailer claiming that regulation, government spending and higher taxes will hurt jobs and productivity.The FTSE 100 company, which is headed by the Conservative peer Simon Wolfson, said that while it did not believe the economy was heading towards a “cliff edge”, the weakening outlook gave the company “another reason to be cautious”.“The medium- to long-term outlook for the UK economy does not look favourable,” the retailer said as it released its results for the six months to July.The company, which sells its own-brand clothes and homeware alongside other brands’ products, and controls the UK distribution of the US brands Gap and Victoria’s Secret, said the rising tax burden and government spending commitments, among other factors, were putting pressure on businesses and restricting economic growth.“At best we expect anaemic growth, with progress constrained by four factors: declining job opportunities, new regulation that erodes competitiveness, government spending commitments that are beyond its means, and a rising tax burden that undermines national productivity,” it said

Bank of England holds interest rates at 4% and slows scheme to sell stock of UK bonds

The Bank of England has left interest rates on hold at 4% and will slow the pace of its “quantitative tightening” programme in the year ahead to avoid distorting jittery government bond markets.The central bank’s nine-member monetary policy committee voted 7-2 to leave borrowing costs unchanged, after five cuts since summer 2024, including a reduction last month.The MPC had been widely expected to pause rate cuts this month as annual inflation remained at 3.8% in August, nearly double the target level.The Bank’s governor, Andrew Bailey, said: “Although we expect inflation to return to our 2% target, we’re not out of the woods yet so any future cuts will need to be made gradually and carefully

The Federal Reserve’s independence is about to be tested like never before

The time has come to ban the “revolving door” between the White House and the Federal Reserve, two academics argued last year. Doing so would be “critical to reducing the incentives for officials to act in the short-term political interests of the president”, they wrote.Eight months ago, the two writers – Dan Katz and Stephen Miran – joined the Trump administration in senior roles. On Tuesday, Miran, the chair of the US Council of Economic Advisers, walked into the Fed as a governor.Strolling through the revolving door himself, Miran pledged during his confirmation hearing to preserve the Fed’s independence, but made clear he would not resign from the White House, just take unpaid leave

Tax rises in, two-child limit out: what Resolution Foundation’s boss is urging Reeves before budget

“She clearly has to fix the problem. I think it’s one thing to come back twice. We don’t want to be here a third time.” Bluntness served Ruth Curtice well in her past life as a senior Treasury official. These days, she deploys it publicly, as chief executive of the Resolution Foundation – urging Rachel Reeves to think the unthinkable before November’s crunch budget

Are the stars finally aligning for the ‘new golden age’ of nuclear? | Nils Pratley

Presidential visits, like investment summits, involve a blizzard of claims about companies set to spend squillions in the UK. Some “commitments” are merely extrapolations of current trends. Some can be filed under “believe it when you see it”. Some involve throwing everything into the mix and producing an implausibly precise number for the “economic value” to the UK. A few pledges are genuinely new, but scepticism should be the default setting

Federal Reserve cuts interest rates by a quarter point, for first time in nearly a year – as it happened

The Fed just announced an interest rate cut by a quarter point, which was largely anticipated amid a weakening labor market.This is the first time the Fed has cut rates since December 2024. Rates now stand at a range of 4% to 4.25%, the lowest since November 2022.Stay tuned for a press conference Fed chair Jerome Powell is expected to give at 2