Reeves' Pessimism Hits Business As Confidence Falls At Fastest Level Since Start Of Pandemic

Buzz Kill: Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ continued pessimistic scaremongering is weighing on the economy

Manufacturers have suffered the sharpest drop in confidence since the start of the pandemic, in the latest evidence that Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s doom and gloom speeches are weighing on the economy.

The sector’s closely followed purchasing managers’ index showed that although

Continuing to grow, companies saw the biggest drop in sentiment about the year ahead since March 2020.

Rob Dobson, director of S&P Global Market Intelligence, which compiled the survey, said: “Uncertainty over the direction of government policy ahead of the upcoming autumn budget was a clear cause of the loss of confidence, especially given recent messages gloomy.”

Reeves has claimed that he had inherited the worst economic situation since the Second World War.

He has warned of painful decisions in his budget later this month.

…but save your eyes $1.50

The pound could hit $1.50 against the dollar next year, one economist has predicted.

Steven Bell of Columbia Threadneedle Investments said sterling has been boosted by the Bank of England’s caution over interest rate cuts.

But the US Federal Reserve has made steeper cuts. It could make “significant” further reductions, supporting suggestions that the pound “could be heading towards $1.50 in 2025”, Bell said.

DIY INVESTMENT PLATFORMS

Easy investing and ready-to-use portfolios

AJ Bell

Easy investing and ready-to-use portfolios

Hargreaves Lansdown

Free Fund Trading and Investment Ideas

Fixed fee investing from £4.99 per month

interactive inverter

Fixed fee investing from £4.99 per month

sax

Get £200 back in trading fees

Trade 212

Free trading and no account commission

Affiliate links: If you purchase a This is Money product you may earn a commission. These offers are chosen by our editorial team as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence.

Compare the best investment account for you

Some links in this article may be affiliate links. If you click on them, we may earn a small commission. That helps us fund This Is Money and keep it free to use. We do not write articles to promote products. We do not allow any commercial relationship to affect our editorial independence.

Reeves’ pessimism hits business as confidence falls at fastest level since start of pandemic

…but save your eyes $1.50