The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) predicts the UK will experience the second highest inflation in the G7 over the next year. This is attributed to Labour’s increased employment taxes and a rise in the national living wage, which have hindered labour cost disinflation. Inflation is expected to remain above the Bank of England’s 2% target for two years, cooling to 2.5% in 2026 and 2.1% in 2027. However, the Chancellor defended her Budget, stating: “The OECD has upgraded our growth and cut its forecast for inflation next year.” But shadow chancellor Mel Stride warned: “Rachel Reeves promised growth but growth is expected to weaken next year, because of her choices. This is the cost of policies that punish work, businesses and investment.”

Only 10% of voters trust Labour to manage the economy, according to a YouGov poll for Sky News. This is the lowest score for Labour since 2019, even lower than during Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership when just 12% backed the party and below the 15% recorded in the wake of Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-Budget. Now, the Conservatives lead with 17%, followed by Reform UK at 13%. Nearly half of voters are unsure which party is best for public finances. Labour’s recent Budget faced criticism for tax increases, with 57% believing the party broke election promises. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is viewed unfavourably by 63% of Britons, while 69% disapprove of Sir Keir Starmer’s performance.

Angela Rayner, the former deputy prime minister, will today propose an amendment to expedite the passage of the Employment Rights Bill. This comes after the Lords forced the watering down of day-one rights against unfair dismissal. After negotiations between unions and business leaders, the qualifying period will now kick in after six months – down from the existing two-years. The move was a breach of the party’s manifesto and has angered backbenchers who fear that further concessions on the bill will follow. Rayner will argue that because the compromise position is shortening the current system, it does not need consultation and therefore the change must be implemented more quickly.

A survey by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), released on Tuesday, showed private sector bosses are expecting to accelerate jobs cuts and freeze recruitment following the Budget. Alpesh Paleja, the deputy chief economist at the CBI, said that uncertainty ahead of the Budget had caused many businesses to hold back on hiring and investment. This is unlikely to change after Labour unveiled a package of £26bn in tax increases and spending cuts in the Budget last week, the lobby group said. However, Mr Paleja conceded that improved fiscal headroom created by the Budget “may provide some stability going forward.”

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has condemned the Government for leaking information before Budget day. Professor David Miles CBE, a member of the OBR’s Budget Responsibility Committee, stated that the media release created misconceptions and was unhelpful. He noted that it suggested fluctuations in expert forecasts, complicating the Budget process. However, Miles clarified that the Chancellor’s statements were not inconsistent with OBR figures, despite concerns over a £4.2bn surplus being misinterpreted as positive news.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched a mobile tool called the “hype type revealer” to help investors understand the impact of hype on their decision-making. Developed with Influence At Work, the tool simulates group chat discussions about investment opportunities. Users identify their “hype type” as calm, informed, or rational based on their responses. Steve Martin, CEO of Influence At Work, stated: “The number of investors being lured in by the hype is concerning.” The initiative is part of the FCA’s InvestSmart campaign, aimed at promoting informed investment decisions.

The Bank of England’s Financial Stability Report (FSR) reveals that cyber-attacks are now viewed as a top risk to the UK’s financial system. Andrew Bailey, the Bank’s Governor, said: “If you look at the league table of risks post the financial crisis and asked the question, what risk has come up the league table most sharply in that period, I’m afraid that cyber would be up there for me, right at the top.” The report also noted that heightened global political tensions and advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) contribute to the increasing risk landscape. Cyber-attacks have already impacted major firms and the broader UK economy.

PensionPay has announced a collaboration with Visa to launch the UK’s first digital wallet for retirement savings. This platform will allow pension providers to offer savers instant, tax-aware withdrawals and enhanced control over their spending. The Visa-branded card will be white-labelled for providers, utilising Visa’s secure payment infrastructure. Duncan Rutherford, Founder and CEO of PensionPay, stated: “Working with Visa allows us to connect pensions to the payments infrastructure people already trust.”

Shop price inflation in the UK has eased to 0.6% in November, down from 1% in October, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and NIQ. This decline, attributed to Black Friday promotions, offers temporary relief for Christmas shoppers. However, BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson cautioned that rising employment costs next year could lead to higher prices, potentially undermining consumer confidence. Mike Watkins from NIQ noted that while slowing price increases are positive, inflationary pressures, especially in food, remain significant. Dickinson stated: “Headwinds in the new year include rising employment costs, which are likely to filter through to prices.”

Researchers in Italy have found that the unpredictable nature of poetry can “jailbreak” AI models, prompting them to produce harmful content despite safeguards. In tests on 25 large language models from nine companies, including Google, OpenAI, and Meta, 62% of poetic prompts that contained explicit requests for hate speech or self-harm were followed, exposing weaknesses in AI guardrails. Some models performed better than others: OpenAI’s GPT-5 nano blocked all harmful responses, while Google’s Gemini 2.5 pro failed on every prompt.