Global Update!

Dear Agents, As part of our ongoing efforts to provide you with relevant and important market information, please find an update from Knight Frank. The IMF dishes out upgrades to the UK outlook Global economic growth should hold steady at 3.2% in both 2024 and 2025 as inflation eases and central banks cut rates, according to a new set of forecasts from the IMF. The group expects growth to keep ticking along at 3.1% five years from now, which is mediocre compared to the prepandemic average but would surely be a positive outcome considering the myriad downside risks the global economy now faces. An escalation of regional conflicts, central banks holding monetary policy too tight for too long, a potential resurgence of financial market volatility that prompts disruption in sovereign debt markets, a deepening slowdown in China and a continued ratcheting up of protectionist policies all have the power to derail growth. The UK gets the largest upgrade of any G7 nation. Growth is projected to have accelerated to 1.1% in 2024, more than double the IMF's estimate of 0.5% growth from six months ago. The economy will expand another 1.5% in 2025 "as falling inflation interest rates stimulate domestic demand." The IMF's forecasts hinge largely on those produced by the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, which in turn are underpinned by former chancellor Jeremy Hunt's fiscal plans. The outlook may shift notably from next week, when current chancellor Rachel Reeves delivers her Budget. Much has been said about tax-hikes, but this will be an expansionary budget, according to Pantheon Economics. Increased public spending will cancel out the tax rises and will result in a