Richard Partington

5 days ago | theguardian.com | Richard Partington

Over the past few years consumers have grown used to seeing prices rise at an exorbitant rate. The cost of everything – from used cars to utility bills and the humble loaf of bread – has rocketed in the worst inflation shock across advanced economies since the 1980s. While inflation has cooled in the past year, talk of fast-rising prices is back on the agenda from Donald Trump’s escalating trade war.

1 week ago | theguardian.com | Richard Partington

Cooling inflation, resilient wage growth, and an economy outperforming expectations. After the turmoil since Donald Trump’s “liberation day”, there are some signs that Britain entered the crisis in reasonable shape. The trouble is, the good news is unlikely to last long. The bigger-than-expected decline in inflation to 2.6% in March will come as a welcome reprieve for hard-pressed households. But it is a snapshot from a rear-view mirror, on an increasingly rocky journey.

1 week ago | theguardian.com | Richard Partington

The number of workers on UK company payrolls has fallen at the fastest pace since the height of the Covid pandemic amid mounting global uncertainty and warnings that Rachel Reeves’s budget measures could lead to job losses. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show the number of people employed in at least one job paid through pay as you earn fell by 78,000 in March after a revised fall of 8,000 in February.

1 week ago | theguardian.com | Richard Partington

UK business confidence has fallen to the lowest level for more than two years amid growing concern over tax rises and Donald Trump’s escalating trade war, according to a survey. Highlighting the risks to the economy, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) said the first quarter of the year had been “harrowing” for companies across Britain.

1 week ago | theguardian.com | Richard Partington

Fundamentally wrong, brutal and paranoid. A preacher of voodoo economics, attacking the US’s allies and enemies alike. Condemnation of Donald Trump in the chaos since his “liberation day” has been swift. For most people the self-inflicted damage makes no sense, and rightly so. Far from making America great again, the president has made Washington an international pariah.