Been Here Before!                                                21 August 2026

Following a review, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, the Crown Prince of Dubai, posted that over 24k extra real estate units had been added to the emirate’s property portfolio in H1, 36% higher than the same period in 2025. He also said that a total of one hundred and four real estate projects were completed in H1, carrying a combined investment value of US$ 30.25 billion – a 52% increase.  Sheikh Hamdan also added that “today’s figures reflect the visionary leadership of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, reaffirming the strength and resilience of Dubai’s real estate sector and the growing confidence in its investment and business environment”, and that “Dubai’s ambition and leadership know no limits”.

A study by fäm Properties has estimated that 82.9% of the 96.59k homes scheduled for completion in Dubai this year have already been sold, with the 5.38k villas recording a 95% absorption rate and the 91.21k apartments, with an 82% absorption rate. The analysis also indicated that the emirate has a total of 564.07k residential properties, currently being built, with most scheduled for handover by 2028; of that total, 425.86k, (75.5%), of those homes have already been sold. Of the 68.30k villas currently under construction, 58.35k (85.4%) have been sold, with apartment statistics showing that 74.1%, (367.51k) of the 496.78k under construction have been sold.

Several residential areas, with completion date this year, have reached 100% sales, including for apartments, Al Wasl, (0.64k), Wadi Al Safa (0.85k), Nad Al Sheba First, (0.24k) and Al Hebiah Sixth, (0.48k). Palm Jumeirah, having sold 93.5% of their 2.40k apartments and Jumeirah Lakes Towers 92.8% of its 2.32k units. In addition, Downtown Dubai and Business Bay posted robust absorption rates – 92.2% of its 6.25k apartments and 88.7% of 16.94k units. High absorption rates have also been recorded by several villa communities including:

Al Hebiah Fifth                       98.7% of 2.06k villas

Nad Al Sheba First                98.2%  of 1.57k villas

Wadi Al Safa 5                        96.4% of 8.22k villas

Al Yufrah                                   94.7% of 6.43k villas

Dubai South                             94.5% of 5.70k villas

By the end of last year, estimates indicate that after 46.7k units were handed over in 2025. Dubai’s total inventory topped 935k; this blog uses an 82:18 ratio so at the beginning of 2026, the number of apartments would stand at 766.7k and for villas/townhouses – 168.3k. By 01 January 2026, Dubai’s revised population was 4.58 million. With an estimated occupancy of 5.1 for villas/town houses, that would house 858.3k Dubai residents, (5.1*168.3k); for apartments that total would be 3.220 million, (766.7k*4.2) – and a combined total of 4.078 million. By 30 July, and according to the Dubai Population Clock, the emirate is now home to 4.74 million – a seven-month increase of 161k. With 24.6k units (20.2k apartments, housing 84.8k, and 4.4k villas/townhouses, for 22.4k more residents added in H1. By mid-year, there were 959.6k units (935k + 24.6k) housing 4.185 million (4.078 million plus 107.2k). On paper, that seems to show that there is enough inventory to house the rising population – however, there are other variables to take into account. It has been estimated that some 10% of the inventory is left empty for various reasons – moving, upgrading, Airbnb, second homes etc.

Interesting H1 figures, from real estate data platform DXB Interact, listed the country’s ten biggest property developers, based on announced H1 financial results, excluding international sales. The leading two, Abu Dhabi’s Modon and Dubai’s Emaar, accounted for US$ 6.27 billion and US$ 6.10 billion, (39.9% of the total sales of US$ 30.98 billion); DAMAC ranked third with US$ 4.36 billion. Emaar posted total property sales of about US$ 7.24 billion during H1, of which, US$ 1.14 billion came from its international development business. Its revenue backlog from projects, under development, was US$ 44.93 billion, 13% higher on the year. Binghatti and Meraas ranked fifth and sixth with US$ 2.07 billion and US$ 2.04 billion in sales, followed by Ellington, Omniyat and Beyond – with sales of US$ 1.91 billion, US$ 1.83 billion and US$ 1.80 billion respectively. (Abu Dhabi’s Aldar came in fourth and H&H seventh, with sales of US$ 2.59 billion and US$ 2.02 billion).

Nakheel has unveiled a limited release of forty-four Frond F Palm Jebel Ali beachfront villas from its Beach & Coral Collections. Spanning ten distinct architectural designs, the Beach Collection comprises five- and six-bedroom villas, ranging from approximately 7.5k to 8.5k sq ft, while the Coral Collection offers six- and seven-bedroom residences of between 11.5k sq ft to 12.5k sq ft. Nakheel’s CEO, Khalid Al Malik, noted that, “this limited Frond F collection combines distinctive architecture with direct beachfront living, offering a rare opportunity to own a home on the destination’s fronds as Palm Jebel Ali moves from vision to reality”. Villa construction is progressing across all twelve residential fronds, with substructure, superstructure, MEP and infrastructure works advancing across five hundred and forty-four villas on Fronds A–F. On Fronds K–P, seven hundred and twenty-eight villas have entered the internal and external finishing stage, with a phased handover of the first villas scheduled later in the year. On completion, the total Palm Jebel Ali project will comprise seven islands and sixteen fronds, with one hundred and twenty km of coastline and more than ninety km of beachfront.

Following the completion of residential construction and core infrastructure, encompassing eighty hectares, Nakheel has also begun handing over eight hundred and ninety-two homes, for about five thousand, five hundred residents, at Jebel Ali Village. The development includes landscaped parks, pedestrian-friendly streets, outdoor recreation areas and connected green spaces. Further amenities are planned to open as part of ongoing developments, including a community centre with retail, a clubhouse, gym, padel courts and event lawns.The Elinor by Zoya project, valued at US$ 28 million, was sold out within fifteen days of its launch. The premium residential development, located in Dubai South, saw the developer in partnership with First Prime Properties. The speed of the sell-out is an indicator of the strong demand for high-quality residential offerings in one of Dubai’s fastest-growing districts.According to the Dubai Land Department, the emirate’s property market has seen one hundred and eighty-six real estate development companies entering the market YTD – equating to twenty-five a month – and a sure sign of the ongoing expansion of Dubai’s property market and growing investor confidence in its capacity to absorb additional projects.  Of that total, 96.8%, (one hundred and eighty companies), received licences from Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism. It is expected that a growing pool of developers will intensify competition and broaden the range of projects available to buyers and investors.Dubai’s H1 commercial real estate market totalled US$ 17.77 billion – 8.5% higher on the year, with volumes up 12.7% to 6.49k, and this despite the regional crisis and a slowdown in land deals. According to Anarock Middle East, the following sectors showed:

• Office                                 almost tripled to US$ 4.31 billion with deals 38.2% higher at 2.57k
  • average prices rose 85% to US$ 872 psf
  • driven by intensifying demand for Grade A office space and limited supply in key business districts and free zones
• Retail                                 174.3% higher at US$ 1.01 billion, with deals up 56.2% at 0.85k                                                                   average prices rose 54% to US$ 950 psf
  • driven by growing consumer activity and investor demand for well-located assets
• Land                                   declined by 9.3% to US$ 9.04 billions, with deals down 29.3% to 0.94k
  • driven by capital increasingly shifting away from land banking and towards assets that provide rental income and immediate cash flows

In Q1, commercial real estate posted a 40% hike, on the year, to a record US$ 11.10 billion, whilst Q2 understandably dipped with volumes 22% lower and values 40% lower; however, average prices rose 34% to US$ 868 psf.

In a phased rollout, Quickerr by Choithrams, the retailer’s new convenience store format, is set to expand to twenty-eight Metro stations across Dubai in a phased rollout. The first four will be Abu Hail, Stadium, Al Nahda and Dubai Airport Free Zone Metro stations, all on the Green Line. The store has been designed for Metro commuters looking to make quick purchases during their daily journeys, offering fresh food, grab-and-go options, beverages and everyday essentials in a compact format. Founded in 1974, Choithram’s has operated across the GCC for more than 50 years. Four years ago, it entered a partnership in the hotel sector that introduced eight twenty-four-hour convenience stores across Dubai hotels. Quickerr is not the first to try the Metro market, and recently, ENOC’s ZOOM convenience stores has announced changes to its presence at selected Dubai Metro stations.

The Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority posted that occupancy rates for its three sectors – Dubai Airport Freezone, Dubai Silicon Oasis and Dubai CommerCity – reached 96% in H1, along with a 13% hike in the number of companies and a 24% hike in employees. The main drivers behind these numbers were continued investment in new infrastructure, startups and technology-focused businesses. Such numbers also reflect the resilience of the Dubai economy, its ability to sustain growth in a troubled global economy and the confidence of overseas companies and entrepreneurs in the Dubai model.

There were several expansion projects at Dubai Silicon Oasis, during H1, including District IO and Block 14. The former, a US$ 3 billion investment, will provide infrastructure for future technologies, R&D and innovation, whilst the latter, with a capex of US$ 490 million for its first phase, will include one commercial building, two residential buildings, a retail district and connections to the future Dubai Metro Blue network.

 In H1, Oraseya Capital, DIEZ’s investment arm, invested in fifteen companies, some specialising in AI technologies, with the number 25% higher on the year. They included Takeem, a proptech platform specialising in rent guarantee solutions, and Revora, an AI-powered e-commerce platform serving GCC markets. It remained the country’s most active investor by number of deals for the third consecutive year, and also its most active early-stage investor; it was also placed second across the MENA region in both categories. Its Sandbox programme attracted seven hundred and seventy-one applications for its eighth cohort, with sixteen companies selected. The number of companies specialising in AI grew 95% during the same period.

Since the ME crisis, that started on 29 February, DP World has moved five hundred thousand twenty-foot equivalent units across the GCC by road and rail. Its inland network is now supporting around three thousand truck movements a day, whilst a further seven hundred trucks have been added to increase cross-border and domestic freight capacity. Ahmad Yousef Al-Hassan, CEO and MD of DP World GCC, commented that “our extensive inland logistics capabilities give shipping lines and cargo owners more routing options and more certainty in how they move goods through the region, helping them adapt quickly when conditions change”. The two main fast-track bonded corridors, opened by DP World, are from Sohar in Oman and the Red Sea routing options through the South Container Terminal at Jeddah Islamic Port. Furthermore, the company has opened a 100k sq mt inland empty container depot in Al Awir, adding storage and release capacity away from Jebel Ali Port; this makes it easier for shipping lines and logistics companies to access and reposition equipment. This depot forms part of DP World’s wider expansion of inland logistics capacity, combining port services with road, rail, storage and cross-border freight options across the region. The expansion gives shipping lines and cargo owners more options for moving freight between ports and inland destinations when conditions affect conventional shipping routes.

This week, Dubai Taxi Company signed an agreement with Arabia Taxi which saw an additional 1.61k vehicles added to the Bolt platform. This deal will result in DTC’s strategic partner integrating Arabia Taxi’s fleet into the ride-hailing platform, giving customers access to a larger pool of vehicles while improving fleet utilisation and service reliability. This is another example of DTC’s strategy to expand its digital mobility network and strengthen partnerships with private taxi operators.

Parkin has signed a memorandum of understanding with three Egyptian companies – Modon Misr for Asset and Facility Management, Mwasalat Misr and Redcon Properties – to further study smart parking and mobility solutions in that country. The partnership will look at ways to combine Parkin’s operational and technology expertise, with the Egyptian companies’ local market capabilities. Parkin CEO, Mohamed Abdulla Al Ali, noted that the company would workwith its partners to explore how its technology and operational expertise could support Egypt’s evolving urban needs.

With an 11.7% rise, over the year, saw UAE banks posting net profits of US$ 24.74 billion, with the total banking system’s total assets reaching US$ 1.44 trillion – 17.1% higher on the year – and its loan portfolio, up 17.8%, attributable to higher domestic lending across the retail and private corporate segments. Deposits jumped 16.1%, with retail growing 13.8% and private corporate by 22.8%. Resident deposits accounted for 88.6% of the overall increase in deposits during 2025.

June saw bank lending, at US$ 6.73 billion, (nearly double that of the previous month), with total gross credit, 0.9% higher, at US$ 751.50 billion. There was also a hike in credit consumer lending, with credit to individuals, up 0.3% rising US$ 1.85 billion. Domestic credit nudged 0.2% higher – by US$ 1.31 billion – to US$ 592.64 billion. However, the best performing sector was foreign credit, increasing by 3.5% to US$ 158.69 billion in June. Total bank deposits rose 0.3% to US$ 946.32. billion in the month, with resident deposits up 1.2 % to US$ 866.76 billion, and non-resident deposits at US$ 79.43 billion. There were also increases seen for deposits with the bank – private by 0.7% to US$ 634.06 billion, government by 2.2% to US$ 123.87 billion and government-related entities by 4.1% to US$ 96.73 billion. Money supply data witnessed:

• M3 rising 1.0% to US$ 933.51 billion
• M2 up  0.8% to US$ 783.92 billion
• M1 falling 1.3% to US$ 283.38 billion
• currency circulating outside banks dropping 4.5% to US$ 43.60 billion
• monetary deposits slipping 0.7% to US$ 239.78 billion
• gross bank assets declining 0.7% to US$ 1,524.25 trillion

Although Ansari Financial Services posted flat H2 operating income, marginally 0.5% lower at US$ 173 million, there were declines of 28.7% in net profit to US$ 41 million, and by 15.0% in EBITDA to US$ 61 million, with its margin 6.8% lower at 38.2%. Net commission income fell 1.4%to US$ 85 million, but this was partly offset by a 0.4% rise in net gains on currency exchange to US$ 88 million. Like others in the industry, Ansari are facing tight competition from fintech companies and dips in transaction margins. Other drivers include the negative impact of the ME crisis on the travel and tourism sector, higher operating expenses and volatility across key remittance corridors. Rashed A Al Ansari, Group CEO of Al Ansari Financial Services, noted that, “maintaining operating income broadly in line with the prior year during a period of temporary disruption across important transaction corridors demonstrates the underlying resilience of our revenue base”.

SALAMA posted a H1 profit after tax of US$ 8 million, a tripling compared to H1 2025, with insurance revenue, at US$ 128 million – 8.9% lower on the year. In the six-month period, its Insurance Service Result rose to US$ 8 million equating to a US$ 9.0 million turnaround from a loss of under US$ 1 million a year earlier in H1 2025. In H1, the insurer completed a capital raise and capital reduction, as Salama returned to a solvency surplus position of US$ 30 million, and a solvency ratio touching 154%. The group continues to operate through three business divisions – Life & Wealth, Health and Property & Casualty, with operations across the UAE, Egypt and Algeria.

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority posted record H1 figures, with increases across the board, including revenue, net profit, EBITDA and operating profit up by 1.8%, on the year, to US$ 4.05 billion, 15.02% to US$ 899 million, 5.27% to US$ 1.99 billion and 9.08% to US$ 1.11 billion. In line with its dividend policy, the utility is obliged to pay at least a minimum US$ 1.69 billion dividend during the first five years, starting October 2022, as a listed company on the Dubai Financial Market, it was agreed that dividends be paid semi-annually in April and October. The next interim dividend of US$ 845 million is due to be paid in October.

By 30 June, Dewa’s system installed generation capacity reached 17.98k megawatt of which 21.5%, (3.860MW) emanated from clean energy sources; 11.52k MW was contributed by two plants in Jebel Ali and Al Aweer. By the end of 2030, Dewa said it plans to have a total installed power generation capacity, exceeding twenty-three GW and desalinated water production capacity of seven hundred and thirty-five Million Imperial Gallons per Day (MIGD).  Of the planned twenty-three GW, around 8.3GW will come from renewable sources, representing 36.1% and of the planned seven hundred and thirty-five MIGD of water production capacity, three hundred and eight MIGD will use seawater reverse osmosis technology powered by renewable energy.

Dewa’s Q2 growth saw the generation of 15.78 TWh of electricity, where clean power reached 3.14 TWh, contributing 19.9% to total power generation. Also, during Q2, desalinated water production reached 40.25 billion imperial gallons. Dewa increased its customer base by  18.22k during the quarter. Over the past year, the authority’s customer base increased by 5.63% to 72.72k. In addition, Dewa commissioned Block A of the Hassyan Sea Water Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) plant, adding sixty MIGD to its water production capacity. Dewa’s SWRO capacity now represents 23% of its total desalination capacity. During the remainder of this year, Dewa said it expects to add an additional 120 MIGD of SWRO capacity. 

The DFM opened the week on Monday 17 August on 5,796 points, and having gained two hundred and nineteen points (3.9%), the previous three weeks, gained sixty points, (1.0%), to close the week on 5,856 points. Emaar Properties, US$ 0.10 lower the previous week, shed US$ 0.04 to close on US$ 2.99 by the end of the week. DEWA, Emirates NBD, DIB and DFM started the previous week on US$ 0.74, US$ 8.68, US$ 2.02 and US$ 0.38 and closed on 21 August at US$ 0.74, US$ 8.41, US$ 2.02 and US$ 0.38. On 21 August, trading was at one hundred and eighty million shares, with a value of US$ one hundred and thirty million dollars, compared to two hundred and thirty-eight million shares, with a value of US$ two hundred and fifty-eight million dollars, on 14 August.  

By 3pm GMT 21 August 2026, Brent, US$ 5.63 (6.9%) higher the previous week, gained US$ 6.86 (7.8%), to close the week on US$ 94.39. Gold, US$ 440 (10.9%) higher the previous two weeks, gained US$ 118 (2.6%), to end the week’s trading at US$ 4,607 on 21 August. Silver was trading at US$ 65.52 on 14 August – and closed today, 21 August, on US$ 3.43 (5.2%) higher on the week at US$ 68.95.

Driven by lower US Treasury yields, fresh institutional inflows and renewed hopes of regulatory progress in Washington, Bitcoin nudged above the 70k level for the first time since May, touching US$ 71.9k yesterday after a surprise 7.0% surge on Wednesday; following the rally, over US$ 1.0 billion in the cryptocurrency short positions were wiped out, as well as more than US$ 3.0 billion in short positions were liquidated in the ensuing twenty-four hours. Others followed suit – including XRP, Ether and Solana moving 5.5%, 5.3% and 5.05 higher. Coincidentally, President Trump met cryptocurrency industry executives on Wednesday, including representatives from Coinbase Global, Payward and Blockchain.com Group Holdings. However, Bitcoin is still some way off its October 2025 peak of US$ 126k.

Rolls Royce and Reliance Industries are planning to jointly design and manufacture engines for India’s multirole indigenous fighter jet programme. In line with Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” initiative, the country has been expanding into defence production in military aerospace and advanced munitions. The partnership announced that “their strategic intent to partner and offer capabilities for the design, development, manufacturing and delivery of a sovereign indigenous combat engine for India’s Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft programme”; the plane is the country’s flagship fifth-generation stealth multirole fighter jet, developed locally for its air force. Details were sketchy about the value of the investment to be made by the two companies. Last month, India approved the purchase of a range of military equipment, worth US$ 5.46 billion, including missiles, electronic warfare systems and suicide drones, after the government approved the purchase of US$ 39 billion worth of defence equipment, including Rafale jets from France. Its current defence budget is US$ 85 billion.

Just after a year after it had acquired the discount retailer, Gordon Brothers is reportedly considering selling Poundland, through an auction process; after its 2025 acquisition, almost two hundred stores were closed down, via a court-sanctioned restructuring plan. Even though it seems that the retailer’s finances had stabilised and improved, there would have to be market uncertainty about the future of its twelve thousand staff and six hundred shops. Potential acquirers are likely to be other turnaround funds, private equity firms or perhaps industry players. It is unclear why Gordon Brothers, who also own the LK Bennett and Radley fashion brands, are in such a hurry to rid itself more so because of its apparent improvement over the past twelve months.

During the Covid period, Paul Stoddart acquired a Bournemouth-based freight airline, European Cargo, to assist the Johnson government import Personal Protection Equipment from the Far East. In 2022, the former Formula One team boss of Minardi F1, who sold 49% of the business and the remaining 51% stake two years later. Now it appears that his company, European Aviation, (formed in 1989), is on the brink of concluding a transaction to buy back European Cargo, more than two months after it was forced to call in administrators in June when almost two hundred employees were made redundant when Teneo was appointed to handle European Cargo’s insolvency; the deal could include sixteen aircraft.

Target has received US$ 994 billion in tariff refunds from the US government, doubling its latest Q2 profit to US$ 2.6 billion; this follows a Supreme Court ruling that declared some of Trump’s import tariffs illegal. The chain is one of many businesses being given tax rebates on goods imported to the US. Despite the result of this particular hearing, the US President has continued to impose duties on goods coming into the US through different legal means, meaning many companies still face extra taxes.

Yesterday, a court in southern China fined the embattled property giant Evergrande, (and its real estate arm), a total of US$ 2.4 billion and sentenced its founder, to life imprisonment, for ‘large-scale financial fraud’. It also posted that “Xu Jiayin was sentenced for multiple crimes and fined, received a life sentence, with political rights revoked for life and all his personal property confiscated”. It added that between 2016 and 2021, Evergrande and Xu, as its boss, “violated national laws by engaging in continuous, large-scale financial fraud and other means to inflate assets and conceal liabilities”. His company was once the ‘poster-boy’ for Chinese real estate for a decade before the government introduced curbs on excessive borrowing and speculation, following which it defaulted in 2021 after struggling to repay creditors. A mega fall of grace for a man who was once one of China’s richest billionaires and a member of the Communist Party’s top political advisory body. The court concluded that “the circumstances were particularly egregious, causing particularly serious economic losses and causing particularly serious social harm”, with new home prices in China contracting for three years.

On Tuesday Trump advised Canada that he would delay further import duties, (of 50%, impacting some US$ 20 billion on that country’s goods), for three days, with negotiations over a trade deal ongoing. He has also used this ruse on dozens of countries, arguing that this trade policy will boost American manufacturing and jobs as businesses either source goods domestically or shift operations to the US. Trump has made tariffs a central pillar of his foreign and trade policies despite legal setbacks and criticism from some analysts.

Latest US Treasury figures show that the country’s national debt has more than doubled in a decade to US$ 40 trillion, driven by the double whammy of heavy spending under both the Biden and the two Trump administrations, along with higher interest payments that have steadily added to the total. The Congressional Budget Office is concerned with the faster-than-expected rise in debt and that it is fast approaching its US$ 41.1 trillion debt ceiling, whilst forecasting that debt could top US$ 64 trillion by 2036.The higher the debt becomes, the higher the amount spent on servicing it, with the current interest rate on 30-year bonds, reached 5.34% on Tuesday – the highest level in almost twenty years. Apart from concerns over government debt, the other major problem is the huge amounts of cash being borrowed by tech firms to develop AI and their ability to repay when and over what timeline. Whether you are a government or an AI tech giant, debts have to be repaid and, if not, the repercussions will be wide ranging and extreme. Meanwhile, the Treasury Department announced on Wednesday that it would increase its buyback operations by “at least double” from US$ 2 billion to US$ 4billion and will be effective from 09 September to 04 November.

For the first time, since pre-Covid 2018, UK house prices have plummeted by the largest amount in the month of August since 2018, with prices having declined by US$ 10.04k, on the month; the average asking price for a home in August is US$ 498k. Rightmove, the property consultancy, has downgraded its 2026 house price forecast from a 2% increase to a flat 0% and is now expecting new seller asking prices dropping by 2%. With the number of available homes for sale at a twelve-year high for this time of year, it also noted that “buyers have the widest choice of homes for sale at this time of year in more than a decade, so standing out on price for the right reasons is hugely important”.

The UK’s current policy, known as the ZEV mandate, was launched in 2024 when 22% of new cars had to be EVs; this percentage increased to 33% this year, with the aim to reach 80% by 2030. However, a new government study, following pressure from UK car makers, recommends that this sales target should be cut. The government has now said it is considering cutting that figure to as far as 50% of all sales by the end of the decade, with the other 50% being hybrid. It is expected that an outright ban on selling purely petrol or diesel cars past 2030 will stay in place. However, environmental groups will continue to argue that watering down the target undermines the UK’s long-term climate goals. In the first seven months of 2026, electric cars make up 25% of total sales in the UK. Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander said on Friday: “It’s right we keep targets under review to ensure they’re practical and back British industry”.

The Office for National Statistics registered that, in the quarter to July, job vacancies fell to 707k – their lowest level in over five years – with the unemployment rate static at 4.9%; the number of payrolled employees fell by 13k in June and estimates that this will be a similar figure for July. The two main drivers appear to be businesses cutting back on recruitment and higher operating costs – down to an uptick in energy expenses. Earnings growth picked up slightly, although private sector wages grew at their slowest rate, 2.8%, for nearly six years. In contrast to the 6.1% mark for the public sector and an average 3.5% for regular earnings, which exclude bonuses. Figures seem to indicate the demand for labour is slowing because of the increased costs for potential employers as well as AI replacing some entry-level roles. Furthermore, inflation moving higher, worldwide economic turmoil and the various global conflicts point to no great improvement in the short term.

The ONS also released figures indicating that retail sales declined by a larger-than-expected 0.4%, compared to June which had posted a 0.7% growth. In July, clothing sales had dropped at the quickest rate in over a year.

Other disappointing news from the ONS was that there was a US$ 2.46 billion July deficit in the government spending with public borrowing, outpacing government tax receipts; the Office for Budget Responsibility had also budgeted a US$ 682 million profit for the month. In the first four months of the fiscal year, borrowing, at US$ 77.34 billion, was US$ 3.14 billion higher than the OBR forecast. The total debt of US$ 4.06 trillion now equates to 94.1% of GDP.

 It does appear that all the disappointing economic data, landing on the Prime Minister’s desk, will limit his ability to introduce extra public borrowing in the upcoming 28 October budget. The Chancellor, John Healey, will deliver the autumn statement which will meet strict fiscal rules, (as laid out in the Labour Party’s 2024 pre-election manifesto).  To meet strict government spending rules and to balance the budget, which will have to include measures to improve people’s cost of living crisis. The only apparent way out is to raise taxes and with a struggling economy, it appears that the rich will have to bankroll the nation. Been Here Before!