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Looking back on last year, it was very pleasing to see that investment returns defied the barrage of political and economic noise throughout the year. In spite of ongoing debates around whether governments are spending too much, if the economy can continue to grow, the impact of military flare-ups across the world, and concerns over various market bubbles, nonetheless major equity indices were up between 12-20% in 2025, with the fourth quarter doing nothing to halt the gains.

Responding to an interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve (Fed) last week, the Bank of England (BoE) cut interest rates yesterday by 0.25%. Commentary focussed on slow growth and falling inflation, with the main area of concern being the economic growth forecasts. It was not exactly reassuring to see the BoE Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) vote five to four in favour of a sixth rate cut since the summer of 2024, as it forecast that inflation is likely to fall close to its

Our chancellor has allegedly not been forthcoming with the truth. She has also implicated the Prime Minister in her misinformation. The Head of the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) has been sacrificed after the release of last week’s budget information before the actual budget. I remember apologising for repeatedly writing about President Trump earlier in the year, and it feels that I am now continuously writing about our embattled chancellor. If the markets and the publ

The run-up to the 2025 Budget may have been characterised by greater conjecture about what would, or wouldn’t, be announced than in perhaps any other “pre-fiscal event” period in the UK’s modern political history. The last-minute leak of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecasts only added to the sense of anticipation of what would be revealed. For better or for worse, the Chancellor has now delivered her statement, and the official “Red Book” of policy announcements (