UK consumers ‘despondent’ ahead of the budget; pound heads for worst month in a year; Russia hikes interest rates – as it happened
People holding ‘their breath’ to see what’s in store for them in Rachel Reeves’s first budget, reports GfK Budget will reverse huge cuts in UK’s public investment, Reeves confirms Fewer businesses are being created – or closed down – in the UK than last year, new data from the Office for National Statistics shows. The ONS reports that the number of businesses created in July-September 2024 was 3.7% lower than in Quarter 3 2023. Continue reading...