Subscribe

Financial Times

Luck has given Jeremy Hunt some room for manoeuvre

Structural weaknesses persist in the UK economy despite falling gas prices. The Budget contains sensible ideas but is not transformative.

Falling gas prices have relieved pressure on the UK economy and public finances.
Structural weaknesses persist in the UK economy.
The cost of living crisis remains severe, with real household disposable incomes per person expected to fall by 5.7% between 2022-23 and 2023-24.
The Budget contains sensible ideas but is not transformative.
Real living standards are forecast to be 0.4% lower in 2027-28 than before the pandemic.

Read next

Charting the Global Economy: Central Banks Hold as Prices Cool

Charting the Global Economy: Central Banks Hold as Prices Cool

Central banks around the world are pausing tightening campaigns as inflation eases and economies slow. Inflation-targeting regimes are keeping their own houses in order, while the US Fed's key inflation gauges fell to the slowest annual paces since late 2021.

Factbox: Turkey earthquake and some of the worst natural disasters of this century

Factbox: Turkey earthquake and some of the worst natural disasters of this century

Two massive earthquakes on Monday have devastated cities and towns across Turkey and Syria, with death toll of over 16,000. This is one of the worst natural disasters this century, alongside the 2004 Sumatran Tsunami, 2010 Haiti earthquake and 2008 Cyclone Nargis.

Take Five: Strap in for no landing

Take Five: Strap in for no landing

A raft of U.S. data and European inflation numbers will give guidance on how the world's top central banks will navigate the way ahead, including the hotly debated "no landing" scenario. Reports on U.S. durable goods orders, home prices, manufacturing and consumer confidence threaten to cement expec