Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog.
The Bank of England looks set to hand Chancellor Rachel Reeves and the Labour government a highly-desired Christmas present today.
The central bank looks all but confirmed to slash interest rates following inflation undershooting expectations on Wednesday.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said inflation hit 3.2 per cent in the year to November, staying well above the Bank’s two per cent target but coming below market expectations.
The previous month’s figure for inflation was 3.6 per cent by comparison.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves, said: “Getting bills down is my top priority. That is why I froze rail fares and prescription fees and cut £150 off average energy bills at the Budget this year.
“The Bank of England agree this will help cut prices and expect inflation to fall faster next year as a result.”
The Bank is also under pressure to give a shot of life to the ailing economy after unemployment data on Tuesday showed the amount of jobless Brits had edged up.
But the decision is still expected to be a close call.
Governor Andrew Bailey played decider in the Bank’s last vote to hold, and could once more play Scrooge in the pre-Christmas decision.
Economists on City AM‘s Shadow Monetary Policy Committee have voted in favour of interest rates being cut by 25 basis points to 3.75 per cent.
We’ll be bringing you the latest news as we get it.
In the meantime, here’s a few of our top stories from yesterday:
Monzo shareholders plotting chair coup after top boss was ousted
Warner Bros to snub Paramount’s takeover in favour of Netflix
Bank of mum and dad now funding multiple steps up housing ladder
Interest rate cut likely after inflation undershoots expectations
Starmer threatens Abrmaovich with court over £2.5bn Chelsea proceeds