Business
Interest rates could remain at 4% until 2026, economists say
UK interest rates are set to be held at 4% until 2026 as lingering concerns about the economy prompt policymakers to act cautiously, economists have said.
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will announce its latest decision on Thursday.
The central bank is widely expected to keep rates at 4% after cutting them from 4.25% in August.
Economists believe the MPC may avoid cutting rates at meetings in November and December, meaning the figure could be kept on hold until February.
This would be a setback for mortgage holders with millions still expected to refinance on to higher rates in the coming years.
Thomas Pugh, chief economist for auditing firm RSM UK, said: “It’s all but guaranteed that the Bank of England will hold interest rates at 4% at its meeting on Thursday.
“The committee will stick to its gradual and cautious guidance, as it continues to try to balance rising inflation with a weakening labour market.”
UK Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation rose to 3.8% in July, from 3.6% in June, meaning it remained at the highest level since January 2024.
This was largely driven by food and drink prices rising, while overall wage inflation has remained at 5%, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics.
Interest rates are used by the MPC to control inflation and bring it down to the 2% target.
The UK labour market has been stagnating with the unemployment rate remaining at a four-year high and job vacancies continuing to decline.
Philip Shaw, an economist for Investec, said he was expecting rates to be held at 4% until the end of the year, with the next cut in February.
He said recent economic data will be “unlikely to disperse the committee’s collective doubts over whether the inflationary coast is clear to resume easing” monetary policy by November.
Rob Wood and Elliott Jordan-Doak, economists for Pantheon Macroeconomics, said recent remarks from the Bank’s governor Andrew Bailey indicated he was happy with the financial markets pricing in only a 40% chance of another rate cut this year.
“The late Budget will likely also encourage the MPC to wait until December at least before considering another cut,” they said.
“We expect little change to the MPC’s guidance from August, given the hawkish dataflow and MPC members’ comments suggest little reason or desire to change their position from early August.”
In August, policymakers emphasised future rate cuts will need to be made “gradually and carefully” amid uncertainty about the economic outlook.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is due to deliver her autumn Budget on November 26, and is widely expected to raise taxes to balance the books.
Business
Chipotle cuts same-store sales forecast for third straight quarter as diner visits drop again
A customer carries a Chipotle bag in San Francisco, California, US, on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Chipotle Mexican Grill on Wednesday reported quarterly revenue that fell short of expectations and cut its same-store sales forecast for the third straight quarter.
Chipotle is expecting its full-year same-store sales to shrink by a low-single digit percentage in fiscal 2025. That’s a big change from February, when the burrito chain was projecting same-store sales would grow by a low- to mid-single digit percentage.
CEO Scott Boatwright said the company is seeing “consistent macroeconomic pressures.” Traffic fell by 0.8%, the third straight quarter of declines.
After the chain outperformed the broader restaurant industry in 2024, the sluggish consumer environment finally hit its restaurants this year. Chipotle’s customer base skews higher income, so it was insulated from the pullback in spending from low-income consumers that fast-food chains were reporting last year.
Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: 29 cents adjusted, in line with expectations
- Revenue: $3 billion vs. $3.03 billion expected
Shares of the restaurant chain ticked slightly higher in extended trading.
Chipotle reported third-quarter net income of $382.1 million, or 29 cents per share, down from $387.4 million, or 28 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding slight adjustments for stock-based compensation grants and other items, the burrito chain still earned 29 cents per share.
Net sales rose 7.5% to $3 billion, fueled by new restaurants. The company opened 84 company-operated locations and two licensed international stores.
Chipotle’s same-store sales increased 0.3% in a reversal from last quarter’s decline. But the growth in sales at restaurants open at least a year came from a 1.1% bump in average check, as traffic dipped.
To revive traffic growth, Chipotle is focusing on its in-restaurant execution, marketing, digital experience and menu innovation, according to Boatwright.
Looking to 2026, Chipotle anticipates that it will open 350 to 370 new locations. That target includes 10 to 15 international restaurants operated by partners, as the company aims to expand globally.
Last month, Chipotle announced a joint venture with SPC Group, a Korea-based restaurant operator. It has also signed development deals with operators in the Middle East and Latin America.
Last Updated:
US Fed Meeting Outcome: In a second consecutive rate cut, the US Federal Reserve on October 29 reduced its key interest rates by another 25 basis points (bps) to 3.75%-4.00%.
US Federal Reserve’s latest interest rate decision.
US Fed Rate Cut, US Fed Meeting Latest News: The US Federal Reserve on October 29 reduced its key interest rates by another 25 basis points (bps) to 3.75%-4.00%, in line with market expectations. This is the second consecutive rate cut following the last reduction in September 2025, when the US central bank announced a similar 25 bps reduction after a gap of nine months.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) approved the rate cut with a 10-2 majority. Governor Stephen Miran dissented, arguing for a steeper half-point reduction, while Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid also voted against the move, favouring no rate cut at all.
“In support of its goals and in light of the shift in the balance of risks, the Committee decided to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/4 percentage point to 3-3/4 to 4 percent,” the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) said in a statement on October 29.
It added that uncertainty about the economic outlook remains elevated. The Committee is attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate and judges that downside risks to employment rose in recent months.
“Available indicators suggest that economic activity has been expanding at a moderate pace. Job gains have slowed this year, and the unemployment rate has edged up but remained low through August; more recent indicators are consistent with these developments. Inflation has moved up since earlier in the year and remains somewhat elevated,” the FOMC stated.
US Fed to Halt Quantitative Tightening from December 1
Alongside the rate cut, the Federal Reserve announced that it will end the reduction of its asset holdings, a process known as quantitative tightening, effective December 1.
The post-meeting statement did not provide any direction on what the committee’s plans are for December.
The next US Fed meeting will take place on December 9-10, and the decision will be announced on December 10.
In September, the US central bank’s officials expected two more cuts this year, according to the ‘dot plot’.
The Fed had reduced borrowing costs three times last year till December 2024. But, it then put any further cuts on hold to evaluate the impact of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on the economy. The US central bank kept its key interest rates unchanged at 4.25%-4.50% for five times in a row till the previous July 2025 policy review.
Currently, CPI inflation in the US stands at 3%, which was cooler than expected by most analysts. The US Fed targets to bring in the retail inflation rate at 2%.
US Fed Rate Cut: How Will It Impact Indian Markets?
Currently, the Nifty futures (GIFT Nifty) are trading nearly 90 points lower at 26,166, suggesting a gap-down opening on Thursday.
For Indian markets, the US Fed rate cut is positive for sectors like IT, pharma, and other export-oriented industries.
Haris is Deputy News Editor (Business) at news18.com. He writes on various issues related to personal finance, markets, economy and companies. Having over a decade of experience in financial journalism, Haris h…Read More
Haris is Deputy News Editor (Business) at news18.com. He writes on various issues related to personal finance, markets, economy and companies. Having over a decade of experience in financial journalism, Haris h… Read More
October 29, 2025, 23:32 IST
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Business
Nvidia Becomes $5 Trillion Powerhouse, Adding $7.6 Billion To Jensen Huang’s Net Worth In A Day
New Delhi: Nvidia CEO and co-founder Jensen Huang has seen his personal fortune soar past USD 180 billion (Rs 15 lakh crore), following a record-breaking rally in Nvidia’s stock that pushed the company’s market valuation to nearly $5 trillion (Rs 415 lakh crore). This milestone makes Nvidia one of the most valuable companies in the world, surpassing even major tech giants like Amazon and Alphabet in market capitalization.
According to Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires Index, Huang’s wealth jumped by over USD 7.6 billion in a single day, rising 4.35 percent to around USD 182 billion. The sharp increase came after Nvidia’s shares surged to a new high of USD 212.19 on Nasdaq, driven by booming demand for its AI processors. Nvidia’s chips — including the H100 and Blackwell series — are now at the heart of global artificial intelligence systems used by companies like OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google.
Founded by Huang in 1993, Nvidia began as a small graphics card manufacturer. Today, it dominates the AI chip market, controlling more than 80 percent of the global GPU supply for data centers and machine learning models. The company’s meteoric rise has made Huang one of the fastest-growing billionaires in the world — and a key figure in the global AI race.
Nvidia’s success has also made it the first Nasdaq-listed firm to cross the USD 5 trillion mark, a feat achieved just months after it breached the USD 4 trillion level. Analysts say the company’s growth reflects how AI has reshaped the global technology industry, with investors betting that Nvidia’s dominance will continue as demand for AI hardware skyrockets.
Huang’s rise underscores how artificial intelligence is not only transforming technology but also rewriting the global billionaire rankings — with Nvidia’s visionary CEO now among the world’s richest individuals.
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