Global Scans · UK · Weekly Summary

WHAT'S NEXT?: Achieving Brexit will dominate the UK's agenda up to and beyond 2020 with uncertainty rife until clear decisions are made on the form of Great Britain's future relationship with the EU and the rest of the world.

• [New] Challenges finding enough repair technicians threatens to further stifle demand in the UK, where consumer uptake has stagnated for the better part of two years. Fortune
• [New] CPI inflation in the UK will fall below US CPI inflation in April and that the Bank of England may first cut interest rates from 5.25 pc in June and reduce them to 3 pc in 2025 rather than to 4 pc as investors expect. The Telegraph
• [New] Comic Relief Launches New Youth Homelessness in the UK Fund Comic Relief has announced that it expects to launch a new funding opportunity in April for organizations that specialise in providing support to young people aged 16-25 in the UK, who are at risk of, or experiencing homelessness. LDCVS - Lancaster District Community & Voluntary Soluti
• [New] The UK will continue to work closely with international governments, AI AI companies and civil society, to ensure people across the globe can safely realise the transformative benefits of AI AI to unlock new opportunities, transform productivity and public services, and power economic growth. GOV.UK
• [New] The UK is planning to add DragonFire to its arsenal by 2027, but is working to see if it can send prototypes to Ukraine sooner - even if they are not 100% refined. The Telegraph
• [New] When operational, the proposed Alcohol-to-Jet facility would produce about 100 million liters of sustainable aviation fuel per year, around 10% of the sustainable aviation fuel that the UK plans to use by 2030. Business News Wales
• [New] Whether the UK follows the US's path will determine if British investors can eventually include bitcoin in their portfolios, with the greater confidence afforded by UK-regulated options. Financial Times
• [New] The impact of climate change means that a fifth of the UK may have suitable weather conditions to grow chardonnay grapes for still wines in 2050. The Guardian
• [New] The Bank of England has held rates for five straight times and today's data will not change its cautious stance of higher for longer. investing.com
• [New] Climate change is likely to increase the activity and distribution of ticks in the UK, which could lead to a rise in Lyme disease cases. Sky News
• [New] The shipbuilding industry in Scotland and across the UK faces a significant challenge: a skills gap that threatens to slow work and frustrate schedules. UK Defence Journal
• [New] Levels of business confidence remain unchanged, with 56% of UK businesses expecting an increase in turnover in the next twelve months. East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce
• [New] All parts of the UK are anticipated to see a rise in house prices over the year to come, with sentiment particularly robust in Northern Ireland, London and Scotland. The Guardian
• [New] House prices across the UK are expected to return to growth within the next 12 months after an increase in new property listings and buyer interest. The Guardian
• [New] The Bank of England would be persuaded to keep rates higher for longer than expected in the UK, where the underlying causes of inflation remain persistent. The Guardian
• [New] Financial markets are betting that the first reduction in UK interest rates from the current level of 5.25% will be in August or September and that there will be at least one further cut in 2024. The Guardian
• [New] 49, 50 In the United Kingdom, the ACMD concluded that synthetic opioids posed a significant risk to public health and recommended that current monitoring and surveillance systems be adapted to help identify the true scale of the public health threat. PubMed Central (PMC)
• [New] Investors are racing to buy British debt as traders ramp up bets that the Bank of England will start cutting interest rates before the US Federal Reserve. The Telegraph
• [New] A Bahraini-British project to develop a spacecraft that will monitor Gulf greenhouse gas emissions from space has been awarded a further £1.4 million ($1.8 million) grant by the UK Space Agency. Arabian Gulf Business Insight
• Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States are making significant investments in their respective submarine industrial bases, which will ensure the supply chains of all three nations are more resilient, integrated and productive. GOV.UK
• One of the main reasons why economists are more optimistic is that the Bank of England is expected to start cutting interest rates in June. CityAM
• A Royal Navy ship will be deployed to help get more aid into Gaza, the UK government has announced. Sky News

Last updated: 16 April 2024