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More from @faisalislam

Faisal Islam

@faisalislam

Jan 31

NEW IMF updates its forecast, generally predicting milder recessions around world than in Autumn.
But downgrades UK forecast by 0.9% to -0.6% in 2023. Now only G7 econ forecast to contract this calendar year.

In fact only one to fall of 15 new forecasts published, incl Russia.

IMF said change in forecast reflected “very complex” economic environment for UK - rate rises, fiscal tightening (essentially tax rises), higher business borrowing costs & high energy bills… but also said since Autumn Statement UK was on “right track”

bbc.co.uk/news/business-…

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said:
“these figures confirm we are not immune to the pressures hitting nearly all advanced economies.

“Short-term challenges should not obscure our long-term prospects - the UK outperformed many forecasts last year” - last week criticised “declinism”

Read 10 tweets

Faisal Islam

@faisalislam

Jan 26

NEW:

As car industry asks for a plan, longish read featuring interviews with PMs, finance ministers, CEOs etc on the US-EU green trade row and Britain’s place in it or outside it…

Is UK being left behind in global climate investment battle? -BBC News bbc.co.uk/news/business-…

@BBCPM

Here is my @BBCPM report on this green trade war featuring interviews with @BrunoLeMaire @c_lindner @LeoVaradkar @stholsether & @grantshapps & others off record… part 1:

Part 2:

Read 10 tweets

Faisal Islam

@faisalislam

Jan 25

Levelling Up Sec Gove addresses “Convention of the North” collection of Mayors etc, after some disquiet about method of allocating funding, & rail performance.

Addressed by German minister for East earlier who explained £70bn a year funding there spent levelling up productivity

Gove immediately questioned about what levelling up means for South Yorkshire given closure of local Doncaster Sheffields Robin Hood airport… Gove seems to critique the company running the airport, but also suggests there could be an “investment zone” in S. Yorkshire…

“levelling up is going to take some time… if we succeed in missions by 2030, we will have gone some way but these are stretching realistic goals…
nothing inevitable about relative economic decline… Manchester best example of that - a model from which others can learn”: Gove.

Read 4 tweets

Faisal Islam

@faisalislam

Jan 20

NEW

In first British broadcast interview since returning as Taoiseach at #WEF23, in further conciliatory remarks, Leo Varadkar tells BBC of his “regrets” NI Protocol “imposed” on unionists, and that he gets why they feel it weakened the Union “without them having a proper say”:

Full Story here:

Varadkar says chances of deal before 25th Anniversary of Good Friday Agreement are “very real” and acknowledges that part of the solution could lie in the fact the Protocol has functioned even given the unilateral grace periods on checks
bbc.com/news/uk-politi…

More interesting things from that rather conciliatory interview by Taoiseach with me at Davos……

Why not continue with the grace periods on checks if the single market has been unaffected?

Varadkar: “think there is some room to manoeuvre. When it comes to the grace periods”

Read 5 tweets

Faisal Islam

@faisalislam

Jan 19

NEW

Opposition leader Starmer & shadow Chancellor Reeves meet with Europe’s top bankers & some energy firms at World Economic Forum saying they want to turnaround UK falling share of world investment - “this is the sort of turn out a PM would get” said a business figure present

One chief Exec told me is that in both Sunak and Starmer, general relief that main two parties are both “pro business” but forward looking business people can see polls and want to know what a Labour administration would do, hence strong demand for meetings with Starmer/Reeves

…bigger point for both Govt and Opposition though is that at the same time the US Inflation Reduction Act and European equivalent are capturing the attention of investors & a tidal wave of investment in green economy - what’s the UK strategy? Especially given Brit Volt collapse

Read 5 tweets

Faisal Islam

@faisalislam

Jan 18

@c_lindner

Very interesting to interview the German finance minister Christian Lindner for BBC News again at #WEF23… @c_lindner -
* inflation peaked & faster European recovery than expected
* Germany “completely diversified” energy & is today “not dependent on Russia”
* “new German model”

@c_lindner

FULL STORY:
German finance minister @c_lindner
“Germany still dependent on energy imports, but today, not from Russian imports but from global markets…” as Germany completed LNG terminal in record 8 months.. claiming it as basis for “new economic model”

bbc.com/news/business-…

Thread:
1.
Lindner claims with a series of supply side reform “we are about to change the German business model” and is no longer dependent on Russian energy:
#Wef23