Drift Away!                                                              17 April 2026

Reports indicate that Ras Al Khaimah’s single-largest private developer is moving into the Dubai market. BNW’s sixth project will witness the expansion of its prestigious branded residences portfolio to Al Furjan, one of Dubai’s most connected communities. The development will be Orvessa Residences, the world’s first property by Michel Adam. Dr Ankur Aggarwal, Chairman and Founder of BNW Developments, noted that “Orvessa Residences is a natural evolution of BNW’s ethos, where spatial fluidity is guided by intention”. The project will encompass ninety-two one -, two- and three- bedroom apartments, with amenities including rooftop swimming pool, fully equipped gym, co-working spaces, outdoor lounges, family seating areas, BBQ zones, steam and sauna facilities, and a dedicated kids’ play area. BNW also aims to build a focused Dubai pipeline.

Dubai Properties awarded Metac General Contracting a US$ 300 million deal for the construction of phases one and two of La Tilia, the latest residential cluster within Villanova. The new phases will add five hundred three-bedroom and three hundred and fifty four-bedroom townhouses; four hundred and ten units will be built in phase one and four hundred and forty in phase two. To date, the Villanova project has already delivered 3.83k residential units and is seen to be one of Dubai’s most established residential addresses for mid-market and upper-mid-market buyers. Khalid Al Malik, CEO of Dubai Holding Real Estate, (the parent company of Dubai Properties), noted that “the award of these contracts reflects continued demand for high-quality, family-focused communities in Dubai”. The latest phases will follow Villanova’s Mediterranean-inspired architectural style, with landscaped streets, parks, walking and cycling tracks, and integrated retail and community amenities.

Meanwhile, Azizi Developments has awarded a US$ 300 million structural steel construction contract for its Burj Azizi project to Eversendai Corporation Berhad.

As part of its ongoing expansion strategy, Prestige One Developments has awarded contracts exceeding US$ 136 million this month to new contractors across multiple projects. These include the first Hilton waterfront-branded residences, Hilton Residences Dubai Maritime City, along with The One by Prestige One, the company’s future headquarters, and The Boulevard by Prestige One. This week, the developer also handed over Vista, its landmark residential development in Dubai Sports City. Overlooking the Els golf club, Vista, with over 350k sq ft of built-up area, offers expansive views across Dubai Sports City along with a range of lifestyle-focused amenities designed to enhance modern urban living. The fourteen-floor building offers a range of studio through to three-bedroom apartments. The developer, that has also recently completed the handover of The Residence, a G + 5 low-rise development, in Jumeirah Village Circle, currently has 2.5k units under construction and twenty active developments in the emirate.

Al Ghurair Development has unveiled plans for a one million sq ft mixed use masterplan community in Al Jaddaf, located across Dubai Creek Harbour. It will combinehomes, offices, hospitality, retail and cultural spaces in close proximity to both the Metro and Etihad Rail. The developers have hired Pelli Clarke & Partners, the architecture firm behind Malaysia’s Petronas Towers. Its CEO, Sultan Al Ghurair, noted that “our vision is to create a complete neighbourhood that puts walkability, public life and mixed-use living first”, with the project being designed around the idea of a “five-minute city”, where residents can reach daily essentials, parks, transport and public spaces within a short walk. The masterplan will include landscaped parks, open public areas and interconnected streets designed to create a cohesive neighbourhood rather than isolated towers. Further details, including design concepts and launch timelines, are expected to be announced later. The company’s current portfolio includes The Weave in Jumeirah Village Circle, now under construction, Wedyan on Dubai Canal, and upcoming residential projects in Dubai South and Wadi Al Safa 3.

DAMAC Properties has launched the final six hundred apartments at its DAMAC District development in DAMAC Hills. Aiming at both investors and end-users, this particular project will include studio and one-bedroom units. The developer noted that there had been strong uptake across earlier residential and commercial launches within the development. The district has been positioned as a mixed-use development bringing together residential towers, commercial space and lifestyle facilities, within a single environment. Prices for studios and one-bedroom apartments will start at US$ 206k and US$ 300k respectively; flexible payment plans are being offered. Amenities include fitness and wellness spaces, outdoor activity areas and social zones designed to support daily living within the community. Residents will also have access to shared workspaces and meeting areas within the commercial component of the project. Retail, dining and entertainment options are planned within the district, along with landscaped areas and community-focused spaces.

The Wasl Group has opened a large green space in Jebel Ali, located within the Wasl Gate residential development; Central Park, encompassing some 82.7k sq mt, is one of the largest parks built inside a housing community in Dubai and is open to both residents and the general public. It has been designed as a large shared urban green space at the heart of a busy city landscape, offering residents a place to exercise, gather and escape the surrounding built environment. Amenities include jogging and cycling tracks, sports courts, a skate park, picnic areas, an amphitheatre lawn and food truck spaces. The project also aligns with Dubai Social Agenda 33 – the government of Dubai’s long-term strategy to improve quality of life and strengthen family and community wellbeing. Wasl Group manages more than sixty thousand residential and commercial units and over one thousand buildings across the emirate.

Reports indicate that several hotels are taking the opportunity of a downturn in business to carry out refurbishment work. They include

• Burj Al Arab is undertaking what it calls a “long-awaited” refurbishment – the first major overhaul since the hotel opened in 1999. The work, under the direction of Paris-based interior architect Tristan Auer, is expected to take eighteen months during which time the property will remain closed
• St. Regis, The Palm in Dubai confirmed that parts of the hotel will be unavailable from mid-April but it will “continue to deliver a considered range of guest experiences”
• Dubai Parks & Resorts has temporarily closed, with visitors advised to contact the call centre for ticket information, bookings and refunds
• Anantara World Islands Dubai Resort has ceased operations entirely as of 10 April
• The Park Hyatt Dubai is also preparing to temporarily shut from 01 May for around six months as it enters the final phase of a multi-year upgrade

An agreement between Emirates NBD and Dubai Holding Real Estate has seen a new financing model that will allow Dubai buyers, of off-plan homes, to secure mortgage approval earlier in the purchase process. Aimed at reducing uncertainty for buyers, it will integrate mortgage financing into off-plan sales across residential projects by Meraas, Nakheel and Dubai Properties, giving eligible buyers access to bank financing at the booking stage rather than closer to handover. The bank clarified that the approvals are subject to eligibility checks and that financing option will be available to both UAE residents and non-residents. Last week, the bank announced a similar deal with Sobha Realty to provide integrated home financing solutions for buyers of the premium luxury developer’s off-plan residential developments across Dubai. Both partnerships align with the emirate’s wider housing and urban planning ambitions under the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan.

Led by Downtown Dubai, with annual prices up by 28.7%, to US$ 1.40k per sq ft, the emirate’s office values continued to skyrocket last year. In 2025, there was a 114% surge in office deals, above US$ 2.72 million, (AED 10 million) to one hundred and sixty-seven. Faisal Durrani, Partner and Head of Research for MENA, posted that “the near tripling in AED ten million+ transactions between 2023 and 2025 underscores the depth of capital targeting Dubai and reflects a strong belief in the city’s long-term economic and real estate fundamentals”. It is readily apparent that occupiers are prepared to pay a premium for efficient layouts and well-connected locations, along with metro access and strong surrounding amenities. Adam Wynne, Partner and Head of Commercial Agency for the UAE commented that “assets are operating at or near full occupancy, with very limited vacancy and, as demand continues to outpace supply, both capital values and rents have naturally increased quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year, a trend that has persisted since 2020”. Two sectors are the big players in the office market with banking/finance and technology accounting for 32.5% and 23.1% of total office demand, mainly in grade-A space. Mostly concentrated in Business Bay, Meydan City, DIFC and Jumeirah Lake Towers, around 24.2 million sq ft of office space is scheduled for delivery over the next five years; DIFC itself has a 7.7 million sq ft pipeline up to 2040.

Canada’s Brookfield Corporation, one of the world’s largest alternative investment managers, already has a presence in Dubai, with itself and the Investment Corporation of Dubai owning a 51% stake in ICD Brookfield Place. Brookfield Properties continue to manage the property – a fifty-four storey, 1.1 million sq ft, premier commercial property located in the Dubai International Financial Centre. It also has other interests in the emirate, with operations spanning infrastructure, real estate and renewable energy including:

• a controlling stake in a Gulf Islamic Investments platform, comprising three million sq ft of high-quality warehouses in the UAE
• a JV with Dubai Holding managing retail and lifestyle assets, including City Walk, The Beach, and La Mer
• a stake in GEMS Education
• the reported acquisition of the Sofitel Dubai The Palm
• partnering with Lunate to launch a US$ 1 billion JV, targeting premium residential real estate in Dubai and Abu Dhabi
• developing Solaya in Jumeirah

Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid, Dubai’s First Deputy Ruler, has held talks with Brookfield CEO, Bruce Flatt, the chief executive of global investment firm Brookfield Corporation, on strengthening cooperation and attracting further investment to the emirate. The meeting focused on opportunities to expand partnerships, with both sides highlighting Dubai’s appeal to international investors and also noting Dubai’s growing role as a trade hub between markets in the East and West. Sheikh Maktoum, also chairman of the Dubai International Financial Centre, added the emirate is focused on supporting long-term growth through partnerships and maintaining a business-friendly environment aligned with global trends in finance and investment.

This week, Dubai Chambers President and CEO, Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, met the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Shanghai’s Vice Chairman, Yang Dongsheng. The aims of the meeting were to strengthen economic ties as well as to increase trade and investment between the two markets. Items such as supporting business communities in both regions, and encouraging two-way investment, were also discussed. Mohammad Lootah added that “Dubai and China share a dynamic economic partnership with significant scope to expand trade and investment ties, deepen collaboration, and drive mutual growth”. Last year, China ranked seventh among the countries of origin for new foreign companies joining Dubai Chamber of Commerce, as 1.58k new Chinese companies adding to the chamber’s membership.

In a bid to strengthen bilateral economic and investment ties, a meeting has been held between UAE’s Minister of Economy and Tourism, Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, and Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister, Jamshid Khodjaev. The talks focused on expanding cooperation across a range of key sectors, including tourism, aviation, fintech, transport, renewable energy, and the broader new economy, alongside areas such as food security, logistics, manufacturing and banking. It was noted that some 2.3k Uzbek companies now operate in the UAE, and that tourist numbers to the UAE jumped by almost 25% to 75k. Both sides also discussed future collaboration through Investopia Tashkent, which will be held alongside the Tashkent International Investment Forum, focusing on unlocking investment opportunities across the UAE, Uzbekistan and wider Asian markets.

With 2025 impressive DMCC figures, as its member companies now topping twenty-six thousand, the free zone continues to play a central role in enabling and consolidating the country’s total trade of over US$ 1.63 trillion, as well as helping Dubai to reach seventh in the Global Financial Centres Index. DMCC is a fully integrated platform that connects commodities, finance and technology, a convergence that is actively reshaping how global trade is conducted.  It is now home to over four thousand tech companies, three thousand, six hundred entities in the energy field and almost two thousand involved in private capital and finance.  The launch of new sector-focused platforms, such as DMCC FinX and DMCC Wealth Hub, has fuelled this growth. This year, there will be increased focus on expanding its ecosystems further, developing the free zone’s districts, and strengthening Dubai’s position as a leading global hub for trade and finance. Although there were strong inflows from India, the UK and Türkiye, the fastest growth came from the US, China, Germany and Switzerland.

It also continues to expand its role across global commodities markets, with the Dubai Diamond Exchange hosting one hundred and three tenders and auctions last year. In a bid to enhance transparency and its digital infrastructure, a record-setting 1,971 kg silver bar was unveiled and is being tokenised through DMCC’s Tradeflow platform which saw a 47.0% annual increase registering 296k transactions, valued at US$ 484.4k; DGCX posted over two million contracts traded, valued at US$ 46.9 billion.

Next Monday, after a holiday and three weeks of online learning, Dubai pupils will be returning to normal schooling, with the Ministry of Education announcing a return to in-person learning. It confirmed, “the resumption of in-person learning for all enrolled children, students, educational staff, and administrative staff in public and private nurseries, kindergartens, and schools effective Monday, 20 April 2026.” A survey by Dubai school principals, to gauge parents’ willingness to send their children back to school, received a positive reaction from many parents, expressing eagerness to resume in-person learning.

The latest Airports Council International World rankings showed that international passenger traffic reached four billion globally in 2025, up 5.9% from 2024 and 8.3% higher than 2019 pre-pandemic levels; in 2025, global total passengers were estimated to have reached 9.8 billion. As expected, Dubai International Airport maintained its position as the world’s busiest airport for international passenger traffic last year and was second again in total traffic (which includes international and domestic traffic) with 95.2 million passengers, compared to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta’s 106.3 million; Tokyo Haneda rose to third with 91.7 million passengers.

A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between the General Directorate of Identity and Foreigners Affairs – Dubai and the Dubai Land Department to unite real estate and residency services under one system. The twin aims of the exercise are to simplify procedures and improve the overall experience for residents, investors and property owners. The agreement will result in the integration into GDRFA – Dubai’s platform of the three key services, viz Golden Residency, Retiree Residency and Property Residency. In future, applicants will only have to utilise one system instead of dealing with multiple authorities and will benefit from quicker waiting times, improved coordination and faster decision-making. It will also support better data sharing between the two entities, helping create a smoother and more reliable process. The partnership is also aligned with Dubai Economic Agenda D33, which aims to expand the emirate’s economy and position it among the world’s top cities.

Late last week, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise Ltd and Blackstone Credit & Insurance announced an agreement to partner ‘Equator’, a new long-term global investment program, with its main aim to invest in aircraft on lease to commercial airlines; it plans to deploy some US$ 1.6 billion annually. DAE’s Aircraft Investor Services will manage the assets, owned by Equator, with DAE sourcing the assets from third parties. Firoz Tarapore, Chief Executive Officer of DAE, commented that “Blackstone’s scaled and flexible capital provides a strong foundation to grow our third-party fleet management franchise”, adding that “our fleet size, global customer and counterparty reach, and dedicated client support team makes DAE uniquely positioned to support Equator’s long-term success. BXCI expects to provide a full spectrum of capital to support the program, enabling flexible and dependable financing solutions across market cycles and investment opportunities.

Both companies are big operators on the world stage. DAE manages about seven hundred aircraft, including more than one hundred valued at over US$ 4 billion under management; it is one of the largest aircraft lessors globally, and acts as servicer in seventeen servicing and management agreements for institutional and financial investors. BXCI’s Infrastructure and Asset Based Credit Group manages over US$ 100 billion and has more than ninety investment professionals. It focuses on providing investment grade credit, non-investment grade credit, and structured investments across the real economy, including infrastructure, commercial finance, fund finance, consumer finance, and real estate lending.

Parkin has entered into a multi-year agreement with real estate developer Binghatti Holding, where it will operate approximately 1.2k spaces across selected Binghatti developments – in areas near Jumeriah Village Circle, Al Jaddaf, and Business Bay. Parking access at these locations will be fully integrated into the paid public parking provider’s mobile application, with customers paying either for short-term or long-term stays, as well as seasonal card purchases. The operation is expected to start before the end of Q2.

The DFM opened the week on Monday 13 April on 5,486 points, and having gained two hundred and twenty-nine points (4.2%), the previous week, gained five hundred and one points (9.1%), to close the week on 5,987 points, by 17 April 2026. Emaar Properties, US$ 0.04 higher the previous week, gained US$ 0.26 to close on US$ 3.50 by the end of the week. DEWA, Emirates NBD, DIB and DFM started the previous week on US$ 0.75 US$ 8.36 US$ 2.04 and US$ 0.39, and closed on 17 April at US$ 0.75, US$ 8.42, US$ 2.04 and US$ 0.41. On 17 April, trading was at three hundred and fifty-five million shares, with a value of US$ two hundred and fifty-five million, compared to one hundred and two million shares, with a value of US$ one hundred and ninety-two million on 10 April.

By 17 April 2026, Brent, US$ 24.81 (20.8%) lower the previous fortnight, shed US$ 9.14, (10.0%), to close on US$ 94.34. Gold, US$ 250 (5.5%) higher the previous fortnight, gained US$ 93 (2.2%), to end the week’s trading at US$ 4,845 on 17 April. Silver was trading at US$ 81.12 – US$ 2.93 (6.8%) higher on the week.

Last Monday, OPEC reduced its forecast for global Q2 oil demand by 500k bpd, to 105.07 million – a figure that is lower than many other estimates, bearing in mind the ongoing Iran war. At the same time, it made no change to its full-year outlook as it sees consumption rebounding in later months. OPEC kept unchanged its forecast that world oil demand will rise by 1.38 million bpd in 2026, in contrast to the EIA which halved its prediction in a 07 April report. The oil cartel noted that the reduction, for both OECD nations and non-OECD, was down to “slight transitory weakness in oil demand growth, given ongoing developments in the Middle East”.  Even though oil output has fallen markedly since the start of hostilities on 28 February, OPEC+ had agreed to resume oil production hikes as of April. Reports indicate that crude oil output by OPEC+ averaged 35.06 million bpd in March, down 7.70 million bpd on the month, with Iraq and Saudi Arabia making the biggest cuts.

The International Energy Agency has indicated that Europe has “maybe six weeks of jet fuel left”, and that stocks would reach a tipping point in June if Europe was unable to replace at least half of its imports from the ME. IEA executive director, Fatih Birol, said there could soon be flight cancellations if supplies remained blocked. The IEA noted that exports from the Gulf region were the largest source of jet fuel to the global market, and that refineries in other major exporting countries, such as Korea, India and China were themselves highly dependent on crude oil imports from the ME.

Lufthansa has become the first major airline to ground dozens of its planes, as the fuel crisis caused by the Iran war takes hold. The German carrier said it would ground up to twenty-seven planes from its regional ‘CityLine’ imminently, citing the fact that “significantly increased kerosene prices, which have more than doubled compared to the period before the Iran war, as well as rising additional burdens from labour disputes, the implementation of the corporate strategy is being partially accelerated”. Nigerian airlines warned it could stop flying as soon as this Monday, 20 April, unless fuel prices – which have risen by around 270% since late February – came down. Airlines have been warning of fuel shortages within weeks and the potential for travel disruption ahead of the peak summer season, with carriers having to push ticket prices higher. Carriers have raised the cost of tickets, introduced fuel surcharges (yet again) and axed some routes in a bid to save cash. However, the situation may change following news today that Iran has announced the Strait of Hormuz would be “completely open” to commercial ships for the remainder of the ceasefire in the US-Israel war with Iran.

Rystad Energy has estimated that repair and restoration costs for energy infrastructure, damaged during the recent Middle East conflict, could reach as much as US$ 58.0 billion. It forecasts that rebuilding damaged power stations, desalination plants and heavy industrial assets such as aluminium smelters and steel facilities would cost up to US$ 8.0 billion and that restoration spending on oil and gas facilities alone could total between US$ 30 billion and US$ 50.0 billion. The latest estimate is somewhat higher than the original projected cost of US$ 25.0 billion. The scale of the operation is immense, and finance will not be the major problem this time but the primary constraint will be access to contractors, specialised equipment and fabrication capacity already committed to a wave of liquefied natural gas and offshore developments sanctioned globally since 2023.

The boss of South East Water has decided that he would forfeit his bonus this year after the utility suffered a drinking water outage in Tunbridge Wells in December and January. Chief executive, David Hinton, was facing an Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee of MPs after the corporate watchdog Ofwat fined the company US$ 30 million for repeated supply failures, in Kent and Essex, between 2020 and 2023, which impacted some 280k customers.

The co-founder of Dolce & Gabbana, Stefano Gabbana, has stepped down as the firm’s chairman, to be replaced by Alfonso Dolce, the brother of co-founder Domenico Dolce and the current D&G chief executive; however, he will continue his creative role at the company. The fashion house posted that his resignation came “as part of a natural evolution of its organisational structure and governance”. Like other major fashion companies, the Italian iconic firm has been impacted by a slowdown in the luxury goods sector, and recently by the fall-out from the Iran war.

Q1 revenue jumping 8.5% to US$ 19.44 billion seemed to justify PepsiCo’s earlier decision to lower prices and cut artificial ingredients; net income also rose 27.0% to US$ 2.33 billion. PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta noted that “the consumer is coming back multiple times to our brands, responding to our holistic value plus execution, plus advertising, plus innovation strategy”. Following Covid, and in a bid to combat inflation, the drinks company bumped prices higher and for eight straight quarters between 2022 – 2023 posted double-digit percentage price hikes; 2024 continued with price rises but at a more moderate rate. The end result was reduced sales and its market value slumping by more than US$ 40.0 billion from 2023. Somebody in the company suddenly saw the light and last Spring, PepsiCo began cutting prices on value brands like Chester’s and Santitas. Then, last September, activist investor Elliott Investment Management took a US$ 4 billion stake in the company and began pressing for further price cuts and other changes. US prices on the likes of Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos and Tostitos chips were cut by 15%, whilst it introduced new products, with no artificial ingredients – such as Cheetos NKD and Doritos NKD – and other trendy food items like Smartfood FiberPop and Doritos. On the drinks side, it acquired Poppi, a gut health soda and introduced a new lower-sugar version of Gatorade, with no artificial ingredients. The end result is that food and drink sales have surged both in its domestic and international markets.

The founder of the embattled Chinese property developer Evergrande, once the biggest real estate firm not only in China but globally, has pleaded guilty to a number of charges including embezzlement of assets and corporate bribery; Hui Ka Yan will be sentenced at a later date. In its heyday, it had a market cap of more than US$ 50.0 billion, but collapsed in 2021, with mega debts. It was later discovered that millions of dollars of pre-funding money had been siphoned off – not for construction – but to be used for new projects which resulted in hundreds of unfinished properties across China. At the time of its collapse, Evergrande had around 1.3k on-going projects in the works across two hundred and eighty cities in China. It became known as the world’s most indebted property developer after much of its empire was built on US$ 300 billion of borrowed money. Its 2021 collapse was the catalyst for the country’s property market to spin fall out of control, with the repercussions still being felt today impacting the country’s economic development.

China’s Q1 GDP grew at a faster than expected 5.0% on the year and 0.5% higher on the quarter – and this despite the ME war severely disrupting global energy supplies. This is the first release of economic data since the country cut its annual economic growth target last month to a range of 4.5%-5%, its lowest expansion goal since 1991. Although still badly impacted from the ongoing fall-out of its property investment sector, (and also to a lesser extent weak consumption and a shrinking population), the main driver for the improvement was manufacturing along with cars and other exports. Xi Ping has promised to invest heavily in innovation, high-tech industries and efforts to boost domestic spending. Like most other countries in the world, China has also to deal with energy problems, global trade tensions and Trump tariffs.

Across Thailand, it is estimated that tens of thousands of small and commercial vessels that work in the country’s multi-billion-dollar fishing industry have been stranded on shore as the ME war, and the resultant blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, decimate fuel supplies and see energy prices surging. It is estimated that, by last Friday, diesel prices had rocketed by over 260% in the space of just fifteen days to US$ 1.58 per litre; Thailand is vulnerable because it imports over half of its energy from the ME. Such prices make it impossible for some fishermen to return to the seas. On top of those troubles, consumers, with less disposable income, are also trying to save money by buying less produce. The industry is extremely fuel-intensive, as Thailand’s fishing boats consume about eighty-ninety million litres of fuel per month, with many making voyages that stretch for weeks and cover more than one hundred km offshore. Even a small hike in prices can be difficult to manage, and with fuel prices at such a high level, it is inevitable that many fishermen will be unable to go out fishing. A marked slowdown in the industry will result in Thai fishermen and families suffering great hardship, whilst thousands of Myanmar migrants, fleeing their war-torn country, will be out of work and have to return home. If more than 80% of fishing vessels are grounded, 150k workers will lose their jobs.

At the International Monetary Fund’s annual meeting in Washington DC this week, finance ministers, central bankers and financiers have spent some time discussing AI, and specifically about the development of the Claude Mythos model by Anthropic. They are concerned that this powerful new AI model could undermine the security of financial systems after it found vulnerabilities in many major operating systems. It appears that potentially it has an unprecedented ability to identify and exploit cyber-security weaknesses. The meeting concluded that there should be safeguards in place and to ensure that processes are in place to make sure that there is resiliency of financial systems. However, they are moving into unknown territory where anything is potentially possible.

The government has announced that it will cap interest rates on plans 2 and 3 student loans, at 6%, for one year from September, so as to protect UK students and graduates in England and Wales from the potential of inflation pressures due to the current state of the global economy. The loan system has long been criticised because of high interest rates; many students are seeing their original debt move higher. Interest on plan 2 loans is currently paid at a rate of between RPI and RPI plus 3%, which currently ranges from 3.2% to 6.2%, whilst students on plan 3 loans also face an interest rate of RPI +3%. Plan 2 student loans are those taken out for undergraduate courses and Postgraduate Certificates of Education since September 2012 in Wales and between September 2012 and July 2023 in England. Plan 3 student loans cover postgraduate master’s or doctoral courses for borrowers in England and Wales. Meanwhile, the other two student loan plans operating in England (1 and 5) will continue to charge a much lower rate of interest, whilst plan 2 and 3 graduates will still be charged significantly more interest than those of different generations. Proper reform is urgently needed.

Finally, some good news for the UK Chancellor as the Office for National Statistics confirmed that the UK economy saw its biggest monthly rise in more than two years in February, at 0.5%; it also raised its former zero estimate for January growth to 0.1%.

However, the IMF has slashed 0.5% off its 2026 UK GDP growth forecast to 0.8% – the biggest downgrade of the G7 nations – and much in line with a similar forecast from the OECD. All other countries faced projection declines, as did the overall global growth projection (which, it said, it would have been raised were it not for the war). The report noted that”the global economy has, to date, withstood a series of shocks, yet another one – this time a military conflict engulfing the Middle East since the end of February – is testing this resilience”. Not only the incompetent management of the Starmer administration, but also the country’s dependence on energy imports, its sensitivity to import prices and its comparatively high levels of government debt exacerbates the problem. The embattled Prime Minister is also facing resignation calls, from members of his own party for his role in supporting the Machiavellian Peter Mandelson as the UK ambassador in Washington despite him failing to pass initial security vetting checks. With the week ending so badly, there are many on both sides of the political divide that would like to see Sir Kier just Drift Away!