Economic news

Markets suggest quarter-point reduction to 4.25% is almost certain but some economists say Bank must go further

The Bank of England is poised to cut interest rates on Thursday amid growing concerns over the hit to UK jobs and growth from Donald Trump’s increasingly erratic global trade war.

In the Bank’s first intervention since the US president’s “liberation day” tariff policy announcement sent shock waves through the world economy, Threadneedle Street is expected to reduce its key base rate from the current level of 4.5%.

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There is an opportunity for Britain in areas such as green finance, though it needs to keep clear red lines over security

The US is urging countries to agree new trade deals. The perceived risk is a bipolar world, where countries have to choose between the US and China. What are the implications for the UK?

In all likelihood this choice is avoidable. The global economy is so interconnected, fragmentation is more likely than a bipolar world.

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The president’s protectivist trade vision is deeply flawed. But he has picked up on something Democrats are missing

Trying to understand Donald Trump’s across-the-board tariffs based solely on economic theory won’t work. As the US president himself said: “Chronic trade deficits are no longer merely an economic problem, they’re a national emergency that threatens our security and our very way of life.” That may be why, as many economists have pointed out, there’s simply no good economic case for his plans.

But few commentators have understood that facts and figures aren’t the whole point of the tariffs. As always, economics is part of a broader political vision. The tariffs help Trump make his claim that a way of life is under threat and he alone can protect it.

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