French economy growth confirmed at +0.1% in first quarter
May 28 (Reuters) - France's economy grew slightly in the first quarter, final data from statistics office INSEE showed on Wednesday, confirming the preliminary reading of +0.1%.
A Reuters poll of 24 economists had on average forecast the same figure.
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Daily Mail
36 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
MAIL ON SUNDAY COMMENT: Dogma cares little for the state of Britain's economy
This country's economy is now in serious peril. This is not only because the Government is nudging at the very outer limits of what it can raise in tax and borrowing – though it is. It is also because that government is increasingly driven by ferocious dogma which cares little for such concerns. It may be that some in the Cabinet can see the danger, yet others do not even view it as a danger, but as an opportunity for yet more upheaval and dramatic change. The extraordinary developments of last week, in which the current very large Labour majority in Parliament brought about revolutions in abortion law and in assisted dying, are a warning that we are now in uncharted waters. It may possibly be that we have never had a government whose parliamentary forces are so radical. And the uncrowned queen of those forces is the Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, increasingly influential and remarkably effective in the Commons and in Whitehall. It is true that there has always been a role for disruptive and troublemaking men and women near the top of the Labour Party. In the Tony Blair years, a similar position was filled by the late John Prescott, a majestic steam-powered Dreadnought originating in the (now remote) days of real class war. Let nobody underestimate Lord Prescott's considerable influence on the government he served. But Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and the apparatus of New Labour kept him under control. In this case, it looks very much as if a confident and popular Ms Rayner has slipped free of any restraint by the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer. Her Employment Rights Bill, which is alarming businesses all over the country, would have been strangled at birth in the days of Blairism. The unions would have been told – rightly – that the public had grown heartily sick of their overmighty antics in the past, and did not want to see them given back the unrestrained power they had rightly lost. And while Sir Keir and his Chancellor Rachel Reeves must know this, they seem either powerless to act, or surprisingly untroubled by the danger of it. Speaking to The Mail on Sunday last week, Ms Reeves simply evaded the question of Ms Rayner's plans. When a successful businessman such as Sir James Dyson accuses you of being 'vindictive' and of 'waging a war on aspiration', you really ought to listen. It is on the success of such businessmen that any future economic growth must be based. Without that growth, where are the taxes to come from to pay for the advanced welfare state in which we live? So we must applaud the open letter to British businessmen sent out by Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith, in which he does what Sir Keir and Ms Reeves will not do, and makes it plain just how dangerous Ms Rayner's plans are. He warns those business chiefs that they are being sleepwalked into disaster, that the Rayner Bill will fundamentally change the balance of power in workplaces, at huge cost. Coming after the idiocy of the National Insurance increase, this a grave threat to the jobs of trade union members, as well as to the economy as a whole. We can only hope that the Prime Minister and his Chancellor will listen and act, for the nation's sake as well as their own.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
UK's military and spy services set for £330m AI tech boost to help track enemies
Hundreds of millions of pounds will be invested in cutting-edge drones and artificial intelligence for the military as part of Rachel Reeves ' attempt to revive the flagging economy. The Chancellor's new industrial strategy will include a £330 million investment in technology used by the Armed Forces, such as 'next-generation drones' to be developed for joint use on the battlefield and by the emergency services. Money will also be ploughed into ultra-powerful computers for MI5, MI6 and GCHQ as well as artificial intelligence (AI) applications to track enemy targets. The investment, part of the strategy being launched tomorrow, comes as Ms Reeves is struggling to boost the UK's flagging growth prospects, which the Confederation of British Industry last week slashed to 1.2 per cent for this year and 1 per cent for 2026. In addition, government borrowing hit a non-pandemic record for May and retail sales last week were down. Without proper growth, the Chancellor will likely have to make the unenviable choice between hiking taxes further in autumn's Budget or breaking her fiscal rules. Ms Reeves has promised that the ten-year infrastructure strategy will lead to a 'decade of national renewal'. The Government is putting £15.6 billion into transport upgrades, £39 billion into social and affordable housing and £14.2 billion for the Sizewell C nuclear power station. Money will also be ploughed into ultra-powerful computers for MI5, MI6 and GCHQ as well as artificial intelligence (AI) applications to track enemy targets. pictured: MI6 headquarters Ms Reeves told The Mail on Sunday she intended to 'pull together a plan to exploit new opportunities, whether it's AI, energy technology, a whole range of parts of the economy'. She added: 'I'm really optimistic about Britain's future. We've got great businesses, we've got great trade deals... I don't see any reason for Britain not to be leaders in these jobs and industries of the future.' But Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride said: 'We have to put the public finances back on a sustainable footing. A future Conservative government will have to contend with a bloated national debt after Labour's reckless borrowing splurge. 'We will never make promises we cannot afford, and our plans will always be fully costed. Labour's "spend now, tax later" approach is utterly short-sighted. 'It mortgages Britain's future for short-term political convenience and leaves ordinary families to foot the bill.'
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Gloom grows in UK boardrooms as bosses lament 'hostile' economy
Pessimism is deepening in boardrooms across the UK as bosses prepare for economic conditions at home and globally to worsen, a new report suggests. Around 70 per cent of boardroom leaders expect worldwide economic conditions to worsen in the year ahead, while just 5.4 per cent believe they will improve, according to a survey by The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland. By contrast, only 22.2 per cent in 2024 anticipated a deterioration in global economic conditions, and exactly double that percentage forecast them getting better. Nearly two-thirds of respondents also think the UK's economic circumstances will weaken further, compared to just a quarter asked the same question last year. CGI said executives are concerned UK competitiveness would not improve in the months ahead, due to factors like US trade tariffs and UK Government policy. President Donald Trump has slapped a 10 per cent baseline tariff on most US imports, as well as a 25 per cent import tax on car parts and a 50 per cent levy on foreign steel and aluminium. The tariffs have heightened anxieties about economic growth slowing, both in the UK and internationally, and inflationary pressures for consumers and businesses magnifying. Meanwhile, the proportion of boardroom leaders who said their firms plan on cutting capital expenditure over the next year rose to over a quarter, while none are forecasting a 'considerable' increase. 'The results remind us that boardroom decision-making has rarely been more challenging,' said the report. 'Organisations of every type are operating in a fluid, and often, hostile environment that (this year particularly) offers few certainties and elevated risk,' it added. The biggest concern for most boards is cybersecurity, with 71 per cent of governance professionals predicting cyber risks will grow this year. However, a smaller proportion of boards - 66 per cent - intend to raise spending on IT security, against 80 per cent in 2024/25. Among significant worry is regulation; most quoted governance professionals believe rules are 'slightly excessive'. Peter Swabey, policy and research director at CGI UK & Ireland, said: 'Governance professionals, always in tune with board sentiments, reveal a boardroom mood of caution and recalibration. 'While AI and cyber resilience are climbing the agenda, confidence in the UK's economic outlook and regulatory environment remains fragile. 'The Government's industrial strategy will need to address these concerns if it is to unlock long-term investment.' Having originally set to be announced this spring, Britain's industrial strategy is now set to be published in the last week of June. Defence, digital infrastructure, clean energy and advanced manufacturing comprised the top four priorities for the industrial strategy among the CGI survey's interviewees. The strategy is also set to include details on the creative, financial services, life sciences, and professional and business services sectors. CGI's survey was based on the full responses of 96 participants from organisations either based in or operating in the UK. Governance professionals in private businesses and members of quoted firms each comprised 35 per cent of the responses. The remaining 30 per cent were from representatives of the public sector, charities and other ownership structures.
