Global think tanks paint grim view for world economy

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9th June 2022

Bite-sized business news from the UK and beyond

Good morning The saying goes ask and you shall receive and, after weeks of badgering, Elon Musk is finally getting data on Twitter fake accounts that he demanded in order to complete the takeover. The social media company will provide the world’s richest man with access to a stream of data comprising more than 500 million tweets posted every day.

Today's stories

Global think tanks paint grim view for world economy
British education startup becomes latest tech unicorn

ECONOMY
Global think tanks paint grim view for world economy

What happened?
This week two major economic think tanks - the World Bank and the OECD – cut their forecasts for global growth this year. The World Bank from 4.1% to 2.9% and the OECD from 4.5% to 3.0%.

The world has changed significantly since the last set of forecasts were done in January. The invasion of Ukraine in February, along with shutdowns in major Chinese cities due to the zero-Covid policy in recent months have created even more headwinds for the global economy only just recovering from two years of pandemic restrictions.

The World Bank raised the risk of a global recession, warning economies may face a 1970s-like period of stagflation, characterised by slow economic growth and rising prices.

Prospects for the UK look particularly gloomy. The OECD predicts the British economy will grow by 3.6% this year with no growth in 2023, only Russia has a weaker forecast out of the top 20 developed nations.

A toxic mix of high inflation, rising interest rates and higher taxes relative to other rich countries means British consumer spending power, and therefore economic growth, will be more constrained.

So what can be done? The UK government is facing increased pressure to do more to help struggling households. The chancellor Rishi Sunak has said he can’t insulate the economy from all the global shocks but there are reports that tax cuts could be on the way, something the OECD and World Bank say governments should do.

Other stories to keep you in the loop

House price growth is slowing, Halifax says
Petrol prices see biggest daily jump in 17 years
Air fares likely to increase significantly by end of summer, Wizz Air boss says
JD Sports ‘guilty’ of fixing Rangers kit prices
Zara owner’s sales jump by 36% as shoppers return to high streets
TikTok investigating claims executive said he ‘didn’t believe’ in maternity leave

TECH
British education startup becomes latest tech unicorn

What happened?
Yesterday British education tech firm Multiverse announced it had raised £175m in its latest round of funding at a valuation of £1.4bn – doubling its value from the previous investment just eight months ago. It’s the first UK firm of its kind to reach unicorn status i.e. with a value over $1bn.

The founder has famous connections. Euan Blair, Multiverse’s founder and CEO, is the son of former prime minister Tony Blair. According to reports, Euan owns as much as 50% of the business, taking his personal wealth to as much as £700m.

Launched in 2016, the company trains apprentices and helps them find roles in the US and UK. Its mission is to give young people paths to employment other than through university - a different view to Tony Blair’s mission of sending at least 50% of students to university.

The company says it has partnered with over 500 employers including Visa and Cisco, and reached more than 8,000 apprentices.

It focuses on training students from underrepresented backgrounds - 56% of the apprentices the company places are ethnic minorities and 54% are women.

What next? The funding will help it expand in the US, and to broaden its range of learning programmes to create more career possibilities for apprentices.

Stat of the day

The 2022 World Cup in Qatar is expected to be watched by 5 billion people around the world, far surpassing the record 3.5 billion who tuned in to the 2018 edition in Russia

Interesting links from around the web

Shower in your bra and cook in the kettle? Putting ‘extreme frugality’ to the test
The ten best TV shows of 2022, so far
Is this the end of retirement as we know it?

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Global think tanks paint grim view for world economy

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