#economic-growth

#economic-growth

Three economists jointly won a Nobel Prize in late 2025 for their groundbreaking quantitative work analyzing how, and why, economies grow. Their math is complicated - but their conclusion is simple: to foster economic expansion, policymakers need to promote technological innovation and stoke competition between rival firms. The surest way to foster that innovation and competition is to strengthen intellectual property rights.

Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

It reflects what businesses tell us they are less confident about hiring staff due to sky-high employment costs and a tidal wave of new employment legislation coming down the track. While there has been some easing of cost pressures - with average earnings including bonuses slowing to 4.7 per cent in the three months to October - labour costs remain a challenge.

The once-rigid link between economic growth and carbon emissions is breaking across the vast majority of the world, according to a study released ahead of Friday's 10th anniversary of the Paris climate agreement. The analysis, which underscores the effectiveness of strong government climate policies, shows this decoupling trend has accelerated since 2015 and is becoming particularly pronounced among major emitters in the global south. Countries representing 92% of the global economy have now decoupled consumption-based carbon emissions and GDP expansion, according to the report by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU).

Nick Thomas Symonds, the minister in charge of EU negotiations, was promoted to full cabinet rank. The Welshman, a close ally of Starmer, will be an advocate of a closer relationship with the EU when ministers meet. But, a source close to the prime minister said, he isn't going to bang the cabinet table and say it's customs union or bust. If that happens, it has to come from Keir himself.

A large part of the Cabinet sat down at the table with the presidents of banking groups, energy companies, steel companies, and major service firms. Sheinbaum posted a photo of the meeting on social media, which also included the president of the Business Coordinating Council (CCE), Francisco Cervantes, as well as the president of Grupo Televisa, Bernardo Gomez; the president of Grupo Bal, Alejandro Bailleres Gual; the president of Grupo FEMSA, Jose Antonio Fernandez Garza; and the son and right-hand man of the president of Banamex, Felipe Chico Hernandez.

Eurozone inflation edged up to 2.2% in November, a slight rise from the 2.1% recorded in October. The headline number continues to hover close to the European Central Bank's 2% target, but the underlying picture remains uneven. For the wider eurozone economy, today's data suggests that the disinflation trend is intact but still fragile. Growth across the bloc remains modest, with forecasts for next year centred near 1.2%.

After 14 years out of office, last year's Autumn Budget was largely met with an understanding that tax rises were necessary. Labour had been dealt a poor hand by its predecessors, with borrowing elevated and debt rising. The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, announced tax rises to steady the ship and expressed hope that such an action would be a one-off. Yet, one year later, the Chancellor has reneged, announcing a further package of £26 billion worth of tax hikes.

Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

She will argue that eight in ten firms believe the legislation, in its current form, will make hiring harder, acting as a brake on economic growth. "Lasting reform takes partnership, not a closed door," she will say. "When eight in ten firms say this bill will make it harder to hire, they are brakes on growth. The government must change course and ask business and unions to forge consensus through compromise."

Former Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme this was "the single biggest reason why [economic] growth has flatlined". In response, Alexander said there was always speculation in the run-up to Budgets but the chancellor had been clear about her priorities. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is widely expected to increase taxes in her Budget on Wednesday to help fill a multibillion-pound gap in her spending plans.

The truth is that without securing higher, sustained economic growth, reconnecting people and politics, generating trust in the potential of democracy and importance of good government becomes almost impossible. And the appeal of the parties of the far right with their dogma of disruption, division and despair it becomes, too, alluring. Kyle added: We see it today with Reform, just as we did in previous times with the National Front and the British National party.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2% early Wednesday and neared the all-time high it set a couple weeks ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 127 points after setting its own record the day before, while the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.3%. Technology stocks swung back upward. Advanced Micro Devices rallied after its CEO said the chip company is expecting better than 35% annual compounded growth in revenue over the next three to five years. Nvidia, the dominant player in chips used for artificial-intelligence technology, also rose.

What's lifting growth now isn't consumer demand: it's infrastructure. From data centers and chip foundries to electric utilities and fiber cabling, billions are being poured into the AI ecosystem. Companies like Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) are selling record volumes of GPUs, while utilities expand capacity to power the next wave of computing. That spending circulates across the economy: construction, logistics, real estate, and materials, creating a multiplier effect reminiscent of the early internet years.

One in eight UK small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) leaders are planning to relocate themselves, their companies, or both overseas, citing rising taxes and mounting regulatory costs, according to a new report by Rathbones. The research, released just weeks before Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivers her Autumn Budget, paints a bleak picture of business confidence across the UK's private sector. If realised, the potential exodus could involve around 680,000 firms out of the UK's 5.67 million SMEs

Interest is what consumers or institutions pay to borrow money. It's also what a bank might pay a client for leaving money in their account. When you take out a loan, "you'll be given the cash and you will need to repay a little bit of that loan over time, said Andrew DiCapua, principal economist at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Ottawa. "Some of what that repayment includes is interest."

Amini founder and CEO Kate Kallot said her company is building computing power that will enable purpose-built AI solutions for Africa.

The 2025 Sveriges Riksbank Prize for Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel has been awarded to three researchers who have shown how technological and scientific innovation, coupled to market competition, drive economic growth. One half of the prize goes to economic-historian Joel Mokyr of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and the other half is split between the economic theorists Philippe Aghion of the Collège de France and the London School of Economics and Peter Howitt of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. "I can't find the words to express what I feel," Aghion said. He says he will use the money for research in his laboratory at the Collège de France.

The project, coordinated by the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU), aims to help UK businesses and researchers take their first steps in using AI to improve productivity and unlock new economic potential. It will focus on raising digital literacy, providing technical expertise, and creating a pathway for companies to embed AI safely and efficiently within their operations.

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground.

We all know that reforms are overdue, in bureaucracy, in the welfare state, in the economy,

cliff edges

Speaking to an audience of political and business leaders in Glasgow, CBI Chair Rupert Soames will call on the UK and Scottish governments to "walk on the same road to growth" and not let the "hurly-burly of an election destroy the close collaboration needed to attract investment." In championing Scotland's historic role as a "catalyst for the United Kingdom's fortunes", Soames will argue that excessive politicking risks squandering Scotland's enormous economic potential - including "natural energy resources that make our competitors green with envy."