Business News Round Up (09/12/2024)
Reeves seeks easing of trade barriers with EU
Rachel Reeves will today seek to break down trade barriers with Brussels when she becomes the first UK Chancellor to attend a meeting of EU finance ministers since Brexit. Ms Reeves will champion free trade as a driver of economic competitiveness, but she will not be demanding a return to the single market, the customs union, or freedom of movement, defying pressure to unpick key elements of the previous government’s Brexit deal. Following their meeting on 2 October, the Prime Minister and President of the European Commission Ursula von de Leyen agreed to strengthen the UK-EU relationship and put it on a more solid, stable footing. Ms Reeves will tell the Eurogroup meeting in Brussels that her attendance “is a signal of the new UK Government’s commitment to resetting our country’s relationship with the European Union; and the importance I place in realising the economic potential of our shared future.”
UK economy set to contract as business confidence hits two-year low
Britain’s business community is bracing for a contracting economy as confidence tumbles to its lowest level in almost two years. According to fresh analysis from consultancy BDO, sentiment has taken a sharp hit following Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s recent budget, stoking concerns among economists that the UK will end the year in decline. BDO’s monthly optimism index fell by 5.8 points in November to 93.5, its weakest reading since January 2023 and the biggest single month decline since August 2021. The consultancy’s separate tracker of economic output also dipped by 3.2 points to 94.7, slipping below the 95 threshold that signals contraction. The downbeat picture has been reinforced by new data from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, which points to a steep fall in job vacancies and a rise in redundancies since Reeves’s budget on 30 October.
https://bmmagazine.co.uk/news/uk-economy-set-to-contract-as-business-confidence-hits-two-year-low
Hiring activity plummets across North, as Autumn Budget fall-out takes its toll
Both the permanent and temporary recruitment sectors have suffered a substantial drop in hiring activity across the North West during November. The latest KPMG and REC, UK Report on Jobs: North of England survey has revealed that vacancy trends turned negative, having posted renewed declines. Starting salary and temp rate inflation, nevertheless, picked up on the month. The report is compiled by S and P Global from responses to questionnaires sent to around 150 recruitment and employment consultancies in the North of England. It shows that permanent hiring activity has declined at the sharpest rate since August 2023. The rate of contraction was substantial and the second-fastest seen in nearly four-and-a-half years. There was still some hiring hesitancy following the Autumn Budget, according to panel reports. Of the four monitored English regions, only the South recorded a sharper drop in permanent staff appointments than that seen locally.
Public shows distrust in connected places and smart cities tech
The UK public have shared their concerns about the connected technology used throughout smart cities and smart homes in a new report from the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology. In a recent survey commissioned by London Economics, over three quarters of UK respondents did not know what term ‘connected places’ meant. In general terms, connected places refer to communities which use connected devices and internet of things in conjunction across their jurisdiction which gather data that is analysed to improve efficiency and inform decision making. This lack of understanding may drive the apparent mistrust in such places that are connected by technology, with 62% somewhat concerned about connected places technology. Respondents were, however, more likely to trust technology managed by the government (15%) or local authorities (14%) than technology managed by private companies.
https://www.digit.fyi/public-shows-distrust-in-connected-places-and-smart-cities-tech