Latest news with #AndyBruce
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
UK's Reeves okays $21 billion of transport projects outside London
By Andy Bruce MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) -British finance minister Rachel Reeves will on Wednesday commit 15.6 billion pounds ($21.1 billion) of funds for transport projects in cities outside London, dogged by years of under-investment and unfulfilled promises. In a speech in Manchester, northwest England, Reeves is due to announce the first investment commitments from her June 11 Spending Review - which sets the budgets for government departments for the rest of the parliamentary term, the finance ministry said. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour government, which suffered heavy defeats in local elections this year, is under pressure to show it is delivering improvements to public services and infrastructure. Britain suffers extremely poor rates of productivity in its cities outside the capital when compared to peer countries, with outdated and limited transport links identified by organisations like the OECD as a key factor. "A Britain that is better off cannot rely on a handful of places forging ahead of the rest of the country," Reeves said in excerpts of her speech provided by the finance ministry. She added that this kind of thinking created growth in too few places and had created large gaps between regions. Most of the 15.6 billion pounds of investment was earmarked by the previous Conservative government of former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak when he cancelled part of a high-speed north-south rail line and promised to reallocate the cash to local projects. However, many city regions have been left waiting for a go-ahead from London. Wednesday's announcement represents a budget commitment to fund transport projects between 2027/28 and 2031/32. They include investments in metro networks in the West Midlands, Greater Manchester, the North East and South Yorkshire, as well as a first mass transit system for West Yorkshire - a city region of 2.3 million people. "These projects can then give firms involved in the supply chains real confidence to start planning and investing in their local economies," said Jonny Haseldine, head of business environment at the British Chambers of Commerce. Britain has held periodic government spending reviews since 1998, but this is the first since 2015 to cover multiple years, other than one in 2021 focused on the COVID pandemic. The non-partisan Institute for Fiscal Studies said on Monday this spending review could prove to be "one of the most significant domestic policy events" for the Labour government. ($1 = 0.7398 pounds) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Zawya
22-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
UK public finances show 20 billion-pound deficit in April
MANCHESTER, England: Britain's government borrowed 20.155 billion pounds ($27 billion) in April, official data showed on Thursday. A Reuters poll of economists showed a median forecast of 17.9 billion pounds for public sector net borrowing. ($1 = 0.7447 pounds) (Reporting by Andy Bruce Editing by William Schomberg)
Reuters
08-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
UK house prices rose unexpectedly in April
A rainbow is seen over apartments in Wandsworth on the River Thames, in London, Britain, August 26, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab LONDON, May 8 (Reuters) - British house prices rose unexpectedly in April, figures from mortgage lender Halifax showed on Thursday. Halifax said house prices rose by 0.3% in April after a 0.5% fall in March. A Reuters poll of economists had pointed to a fall of 0.1% for April. The Reuters Tariff Watch newsletter is your daily guide to the latest global trade and tariff news. Sign up here. House prices were 3.2% higher on the year - higher than the 2.6% rise forecast in the poll. Reporting by Andy Bruce; Editing by Catarina Demony Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab Share X Facebook Linkedin Email Link Purchase Licensing Rights
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Unexpected UK retail sales jump boosts economy as storm gathers
By Andy Bruce (Reuters) -British retailers reported the best start to the year since 2021 in what may be a fleeting boost for the economy, with rising bills and the U.S. trade war increasingly weighing on consumer morale. Retail sales volumes rose by 0.4% in March alone, after downwardly revised growth of 0.7% in February, the Office for National Statistics said on Friday. A Reuters poll of economists had pointed to a month-on-month fall of 0.4%. For the first quarter as a whole, retail sales rose by 1.6% - the strongest reading in four years, and providing a 0.08 percentage point boost to overall economic output for the quarter. That may prove to be a high watermark for Britain's consumer economy for the foreseeable future. Earlier on Friday, a closely-watched gauge of British consumer confidence fell in April to its lowest level since late 2023. Market research firm GfK cited rising household energy bills and turbulent global financial markets as reasons for the drop. "Retailers face an uphill battle to protect margins, sustain investment, and navigate an increasingly complex trading environment," said Nicholas Found, head of commercial content at consultancy Retail Economics. "The outlook is clouded further by uncertainty around U.S. trade tariffs, which has the potential to disrupt shipments if orders are cancelled and routes impacted." On Thursday Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said he was focused on an expected shock to growth from U.S. President Donald Trump's import tariffs and retaliatory measures by other countries. Some of Bailey's BoE colleagues say the trade war could prove to be disinflationary. Clothing and outdoor retail chains said good weather helped sales last month, although supermarkets struggled, the ONS said. The outlook for the rest of the year looks tougher, with household energy bills on the rise and financial markets in turmoil because of the trade war. Outlook statements this month from major British retailers have been downbeat. Tesco and Sainsbury's, the country's two biggest food retailers, warned profit growth was unlikely this year amid a potential price war. Sportswear retailer JD Sports forecast little or no growth even before any potential impact from U.S. tariffs. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
UK firms stay upbeat, helped by retail rebound, Lloyds survey shows
By Andy Bruce (Reuters) - British business confidence held steady this month, matching February's six-month high and adding to tentative signs of an uptick in the economy in early 2025, a survey showed on Monday. The Lloyds Bank Business Barometer stayed at 49% in March, with a particular strong showing for retailers - chiming with official data last week that showed an unexpected surge in retail sales volumes in February. Businesses' confidence about their own trading prospects - as opposed to the wider economy - rose to the highest since 2017. The survey follows a stronger-than-expected outturn last week from the closely-watched S&P Global purchasing managers' indexes (PMIs). Together these indicators suggest British economic growth picked up slightly after a tepid end to 2024, although economists warn that coming tax hikes on employers and a rise in regulated household energy bills in April could impede a more sustained recovery. British companies are also waiting to hear how badly they will fare when the United States levies further tariffs on its trading partners this week. Manufacturing sentiment fell sharply in the Lloyds survey, as it did in the S&P Global report. "Business confidence remained steady this month, suggesting that UK companies may have been waiting to see the impact of government decisions at home and globally," Hann-Ju Ho, senior economist at Lloyds Commercial Banking, said. "Despite this, today's data continues to reflect a positive growth trend in the UK economy," he added. A separate survey of financial services executives from KPMG showed a slight fall in profitability expectations for the second quarter of 2025, although they remained upbeat about business prospects overall. Companies in the Lloyds survey reported a slight drop in economic confidence and hiring intentions, while pay expectations, watched closely by the Bank of England, also receded. Price expectations edged lower too. Sign in to access your portfolio
