Economic Growth

GDP expanded by 0.4% in three months to June, down from 0.6% in the first quarter, says ONSEconomic growth slowed in the second quarter of the year, as the disruption unleashed by the Iran war began to take its toll, official figures show.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said GDP expanded by 0.4% in the three months to June, down from 0.6% in the first quarter, in line with City economists’ expectations. Continue reading...

• Singapore has increased its 2026 economic growth forecast to 4.5%-5.5%, up from the previous estimate of 2.0%-4.0%. • This upward revision follows a strong Q2 performance where the economy grew 5.9% year-on-year. • The growth is primarily driven by a surge in AI-related investments and a more resilient global economy despite conflicts in the Middle East.

TUC will urge John Healey to order ‘root and branch’ assessment of watchdog amid claims its forecasts downplay investment benefitsThe TUC is urging the new chancellor, John Healey, to order a “root and branch” review of the Office for Budget Responsibility, claiming the forecaster’s approach holds back investment.With Andy Burnham promising “good growth in every postcode”, the union umbrella body is calling on Healey to use his first budget on 28 October to re-examine the assessments of the watchdog. Continue reading...

• U.S. economic growth slowed unexpectedly during the second quarter, primarily driven by a widening trade deficit and the impacts of tariffs and conflict in Iran. • Despite the overall slowdown, consumer spending grew at a rate of 3.2%, supported by higher gas prices and larger tax refunds. • The divergence between slowing GDP and strong consumer activity suggests underlying economic resilience despite external geopolitical and trade pressures.

• Global economic trends show mixed signals, with US unemployment claims hitting a near 60-year low, indicating a highly stable labor market. • South Korea's economy experienced faster-than-expected growth, primarily fueled by a continuing boom in artificial intelligence chips. • Central bank policies diverged as the European Central Bank deferred rate hikes until September, while Russia and Hungary cut rates and Indonesia and South Africa held them steady.

New defence secretary emphasises military will be spending priority over other departments under BurnhamUK politics live – latest updatesWes Streeting has said increased defence spending would make “an enormous contribution” to economic growth as he emphasised that the military will be a spending priority for Andy Burnham’s government over other departments.The new defence secretary, in a speech at the Farnborough airshow, did not make any extra financial commitments but promised he would give the arms industry “clarity and confidence” in contrast to the row that contributed to the fall of Keir Starmer. Continue reading...

• Prompt injection attacks reached success rates between 50% and 84% across common LLM deployments in 2026, depending on the specific configuration. • Indirect prompt injections, which hide malicious instructions in trusted sources, accounted for over 55% of attacks and showed 20%–30% higher success rates than direct methods. • Multi-hop indirect prompt injection attacks saw a significant surge, increasing by over 70% year over year between 2025 and 2026.