Economy

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The UK economy will need to grow at three times this year’s expected rate if the new Labour government is to avoid a hole in the public finances, the IMF has warned, in a stark illustration of the challenges facing chancellor Rachel Reeves as she prepares for a landmark Budget this autumn.GDP growth would need to be around 2.6 per cent every fiscal year from 2025-26 if Labour is to stabilise public...

Murmurs of trade war are getting louder. Not just between China and the United States should Donald Trump be re-elected, but also between China and Europe. Now more than ever it’s important for Europe to speak with one voice on global affairs. But recent elections make this much less likely. We should expect a Europe that is more divided and less coherent on foreign policy issues, including ones that are important to Australia, most notably policy towards China.A lot has been made about the shift to the right in EU...

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The writer is president of the EurogroupEurope is at a budgetary inflection point. We need to reduce deficits and rebuild a stronger financial safety net while facing multiple short- and long-term spending and investment demands, including the green and digital transitions, defence, security and ageing. To do this we have to strike the delicate balance between sustainable public finances, strong investment and solid economic growth. In short, Europe’s prosperity depends on solving...

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s new Treasury chief said Sunday she will run the economy with “iron discipline,” but suggested she’ll give public sector workers an above-inflation pay raise to help end a wave of strikes and strife.The Labour Party government is under pressure from supporters and trade unions to spend more on salaries and welfare benefits, two weeks after it was elected on promises not to hike personal taxes or increase public borrowing,“I think people know that things are a mess,” Treasury chief Rachel Reeves told the BBC, arguing the...

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the US economy myFT Digest -- delivered directly to your inbox.US growth figures on Thursday will provide the latest clue to investors eager for signals on when the Federal Reserve will begin to lower interest rates from their current 23-year high.Economists polled by Reuters are expecting GDP to have grown at an annualised rate of 1.8 per cent in the second quarter. While that would be a slight pick-up on the first quarter rate of 1.4 per cent, the big picture for...