UK Economic Recovery Slows to a Crawl as ‘Pingdemic’ Bites
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), output rose just 0.1 percent in July from the previous month, well below the 1 percent expansion in June and weaker than the 0.6 percent growth forecast in a Reuters poll of economists
This shows how the UK economic rebound slowed to a crawl in July, as a surge in the Delta variant of coronavirus forced workers to self-isolate and consumers spent less, raising doubts over the strength of the recovery
Overall a dark outlook, as UK faces permanent shortages of staff in the food distribution sector and supply chain issues seem to be getting worse
London Warned of Risk of Losing Status as Top Financial Centre
According to recent news, London’s position as a leading global financial centre is under threat without reforms to tax and labour rules alongside other policies to strengthen international trade links and expand into new markets
This shows how the UK capital has declined relative to its biggest competitors such as New York and Hong Kong over the past decade, including its global share of markets such as cross-border bank lending, insurance premium-writing, pension and hedge fund assets
Overall an uncertain outlook, as the UK government need to do more to match the growth of rivals
UK Retailers Braced for Shortage of Stock in Run-up to Christmas
Although supply issues in food distribution have dominated headlines in recent weeks, non-food retailers are also encountering similar setbacks in planning and stocking up for their busiest period of the year
This shows how problems over the summer at some major Chinese container ports and the blockage of the Suez Canal earlier in the year have led to bottlenecks.
Overall a worrying outlook, as factories in China are clogged up, so they are only producing what orders they have for