Sidelining Reeves now is a big gamble September 4, 2025 Keir Starmer's mini reshuffle has sidelined Rachel Reeves just as the markets need a show of faith, writes Helen Thomas.
‘Yesterday man’: How Powell’s Fed exit will open the door to Trump August 20, 2025 With Jerome Powell’s term as chair expiring in 2026, President Trump is closing in on Fed control after months of animosity, says Helen Thomas The great central banker jamboree takes place this weekend at Jackson Hole, Wyoming.This annual symposium organised by the US Federal Reserve brings together the top mindsin economic academic thought – and [...]
Once bitten, twice inflated: The Bank of England’s rate cut conundrum August 14, 2025 After the MPC’s historic second vote on interest rates, is the Bank of England torn between fears of recession and inflation, asks Helen Thomas Seventeen years ago this month, the Bank of England produced its quarterly Inflation Reportas usual. In the 56 pages, the Bank’s forecasters laid out carefully crafted charts andanalysis of how growth [...]
Official statistics have become useless August 7, 2025 The pandemic has exposed the shortcomings in how we measure everything, from inflation to GDP to jobs, says Helen Thomas Statistics haven’t quite kept pace with the world they’re meant to measure. Designed for an economy of assembly lines and cheque books, many of today’s headline figures feel increasingly out of step with a digital, [...]
Trump’s gambit: play by his rules or lose July 30, 2025 The US-EU trade deal signals a new geopolitical era where security trumps commerce, allies are rewarded for loyalty, and Trump’s strategy forces nations to pick sides – America or China? Writes Helen Thomas The devil is usually in the detail but when it comes to the US-EU trade deal, the big picture is what counts. [...]
Rachel Reeves is lost in space July 24, 2025 Rachel Reeves said was steering the economy past a black hole but her calculations are off and we’re heading for the abyss, says Helen Thomas One year ago, the new UK Chancellor declared that upon taking office she had discovered a £22bn fiscal black hole. She told parliament in her first big speech, “If left [...]
Does Rachel Reeves believe in capitalism? July 17, 2025 The Chancellor can’t do the biggest things she needs for growth because she can’t escape her own ideology, says Helen Thomas Spin only gets you so far in the business world. Action has to back up rhetoric or the game will be found out. This is the main difference between business and politics: the former [...]
Something fiscal this way comes: Reeves haunted by ghosts of Truss and the OBR July 10, 2025 Haunted by the legacy of Truss and bound by the warnings of the OBR, Chancellor Rachel Reeves now faces a political and fiscal tragedy of her own, as internal rebellion and economic risks threaten her grip on stability, says Helen Thomas OBR, OBR, wherefore art thou OBR? The three letter acronym that oversees government finances [...]
Markets are ignoring global instability – but a reckoning looms July 3, 2025 Despite simmering political crises and looming economic risks, markets are riding a low-volatility sugar high – fuelled by central bank interventions – but the longer reality is ignored, the sharper the eventual correction, says Helen Thomas With markets taking an early summer holiday, basking in the glow of record highs for the S&P500, it can [...]
Chess-playing Reeves is in a political zugzwang over welfare June 26, 2025 A looming rebellion on welfare reforms is casting doubt on Rachel Reeves’ ability to meet her fiscal rules, says Helen Thomas As we approach the first anniversary of the first Labour government in 14 years, we also approach its first significant rebellion. According to the analysis of our team at BlondeMoney, next week’s vote on [...]
