One week, three central bank meetings

Jul 29, 2024
In meetings this week, central bankers will consider cutting interest rates in the U.S. and U.K., while rate hikes could be on the table in Japan.
While goods price inflation has fallen in the U.K., services prices remain very sticky.
Yui Mok/POOL/AFP

For this London honey seller, the buzz is about British bees

Jun 25, 2024
Business is strong for Samantha Wallace. But she's dealing with complicated import rules and seeking the right varieties of domestic honey.
A bee collects nectar from lavender in Knutsford, England. "Our passion is honey," says Samantha Wallace, who values "the diversity of flavor."
Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Homeownership in the The Sims meets homeownership IRL

Apr 29, 2024
"The Sims had really kind of seeded that desire for homeownership in me at a young age," said Elle Hunt, a journalist based in the U.K. "And I'd spent the interim 20 years walking away from that dream a bit."
"The Sims had really kind of seeded that desire for homeownership in me at a young age," said Elle Hunt.
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Was the Bank of England largely to blame for the UK’s inflation?

Aug 1, 2023
A new British pressure group is calling for the UK’s central bank to “lose the power to create unlimited amounts of money out of thin air.”
A new pressure group blames Britain’s central bank and its quantitative easing program for much of the problem in the United Kingdom.
Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Will “wonky” fruit and vegetables help alleviate the U.K.’s cost of living crisis?

Nov 23, 2022
Historically, British supermarkets have rejected all imperfect produce, but that’s changing fast under pressure from rising food prices.
Ugly produce sales have been on the rise as the cost of living in the U.K. gets more expensive.
Mychele Daniau/AFP via Getty Images

Liz Truss leaves behind a chaotic U.K. economy

Oct 20, 2022
As British Prime Minister Liz Truss steps down, what's next for the U.K.'s economy?
Prime Minister Liz Truss announced her resignation on Oct. 20 in London.
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Queen Elizabeth II dies amid uncertain times in the UK

Sep 8, 2022
"She died — although at the age of 96 — too soon," said Marketplace's Stephen Beard.
Queen Elizabeth at Saint Paul's Cathedral in London in 2012.
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Can't pay won't pay: Brits join civil disobedience campaign over soaring energy prices

Aug 23, 2022
A new movement aims to persuade 1 million households to refuse to pay skyrocketing bills, driven by imbalance in natural gas supplies.
A natural gas processing plant and terminals in England. The average UK household energy bill has rocketed by over 200% in the past year, with more increases looming.
Ian Forsyth/Getty Images

Platinum Jubilee street parties kick off, giving a boost to businesses across the U.K.

Jun 3, 2022
The large-scale parties are a Jubilee tradition, as well as an integral element in local economies.
Members of the public gather outside St Pauls Cathedral  on June 03, 2022 in London, England. The Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II is being celebrated from June 2 to June 5, 2022, in the UK and Commonwealth to mark the 70th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952.
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Why the U.K. is threatening to tear up part of its Brexit treaty with the European Union

May 27, 2022
The British move to change unilaterally part of its withdrawal deal with the EU could trigger a trade war with the bloc.
The Brexit grace period is over for most nonfood products arriving in Northern Ireland from the British mainland, and a wide swathe of goods already has been squeezed out of the Northern Ireland market.
Dan Kitwood/Getty Images