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Live election results for 136 borough, district, unitary and county council election.
Diesel is the one to watch for broader inflation, with prices rising more than gasoline amidst the ongoing Iran conflict. At $5.38 it's 93% of its all-time record – and nearly every goods delivery runs on it. California diesel is already at $6.87. Freight cost pressure is building fast.
As we go to the polls this Thursday, London's council elections are looking fiercely competitive. Labour is projected to hold most boroughs, but more than half will be decided by five points or less. Click here to read Tony Travers on London's 2026 council elections.
The Bank of England kept interest rates at 4% in September, with a 7–2 vote by the Monetary Policy Committee. Two members backed a cut to 3.75%, but sticky inflation — CPI held at 3.8% in July and August — kept the majority cautious. The MPC also slowed the pace of quantitative tightening (reducing the stock of government bonds it holds), trimming planned gilt sales from £100bn to £70bn over the next year. This follows concerns that the Bank's policy and rate of bond sales, unusually high by international standards, has been inflating bond yields and government borrowing costs. The next MPC decision is due 6th November 2025.
Nearly four weeks following the start of US-Israel strikes on Iran, and gas prices are showing a sustained rise exceeding any shock in at least 30 years. At 4 weeks, gas is up 35% (index 135). After Ukraine's invasion at the same point: index 120. Gulf War: 113. Hurricane Katrina spiked then reversed – just 107 by week 4.
US petrol prices have surged since the US-Israel strikes on Iran began Feb 28. Regular gasoline is up 35% in 4 weeks ($2.94→$3.96/gal). Diesel has risen even faster: +41%, now $5.38 and within $0.44 of its all-time record. Compare with last June's 12-day US-Israel-Iran conflict. Gasoline barely moved (+$0.10, quickly reversed). Diesel rose ~$0.30 then retreated. With strikes on gas fields continuing, expect prices at the pump to rise further still.
Gold has climbed to an all‑time high today, rising past $ 3,500 per ounce amid growing expectations of a U.S. Federal Reserve rate cut and a softer U.S. dollar. Click on the chart to read Philip Fliers on why gold is seen as a safe haven asset.
This chart shows an example of reductions in the costs of new technologies over time, highlighting the dramatic fall in the real cost of computer memory and storage over time. In the space of just a few decades, the cost of computer (random access) memory dropped exponentially, from hundreds of trillions of dollars per terabyte in the 1950s to around a thousand dollars per terabyte today.
New analysis from EBRD quantifies the economic impact of falling birth rates and population ageing. Between 2000 and 2023, demographic growth added around 0.3–0.4 percentage points per year to GDP per capita growth in regions such as emerging Asia, Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa. Looking ahead to 2024–50, this contribution largely disappears and turns negative in advanced economies and emerging Europe, where ageing is most advanced, and fertility is in decline. Sub-Saharan Africa is the exception, with demographics continuing to support growth as the working-age share rises. Click here to read Federica Coelli and Pablo GarcÃa Guzmán on how falling birth rates reshape the global economy.
Global cocoa prices are up almost 18% on last year, following dry weather across West Africa and the spread of a disease affecting cacao trees. Click on the chart to read more about food inflation from Finn McEvoy.
On Monday, April 28, 2025, Canadians will vote in a federal general election to elect members of the House of Commons to the 45th Canadian Parliament. ? Over the past five months, polls have shown a sharp reversal in fortunes. Once trailing significantly, the Liberal Party, led by Mark Carney, now maintains a narrow lead.
