British economy Archives

New NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte Calls for ‘War-Time Mindset’ and Increased Defense Spending

In his first public address since assuming the role of NATO Secretary-General, Mark Rutte emphasized the need for member states to adopt a “war-time mindset” and significantly increase defense spending. Reports suggest that NATO may establish a new spending target of 3% of GDP by 2030, a marked rise from the current 2% benchmark, which remains unmet by eight member nations.

Public Sector Headcount grows by 5% YOY

The revision by the OECD that Britain’s GDP growth for next year will be higher than initially thought will be welcome news to Rachel Reeves and Kier Starmer. Indeed, the increase has been from 0.4% when forecast in May, to 1.1% now. At a time when the Government are facing acrimony over their budget, and business confidence is deteriorating, it is important to understand though, that the reason why the forecast has been lifted is due to the planned investments into the public sector.