NIESR FORECASTS ECONOMIC GROWTH OF 6.8 PER CENT

The economy will grow faster than initially expected this year, by 6.8 per cent according to forecasts by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), up 1.1 percentage points from its May forecast (The Times). It predicts that the economy will only recover to its pre-pandemic size by the first quarter of next year and that prices will rise faster than the three per cent forecast by the Bank of England (BoE).

The institute's deputy director, Hande Kucuk, said inflation would remain above the BoE's target for 'the most part of next year? at 3.9 per cent, and called on the BoE to clearly and carefully communicate how it plans to avoid a significant tightening in financial conditions (The Telegraph).

CHANCELLOR ENCOURAGES YOUNG PEOPLE TO GO BACK TO THE OFFICE

The chancellor Rishi Sunak has encouraged young people to return to the office, saying it can be ?really beneficial? for their careers (The Times). In an interview with LinkedIn News, Mr Sunak said that working in an office environment is a ?valuable? experience for young people and that strong relationships can't be replicated on online video conferences.

Meanwhile, the health minister Sajid Javid said yesterday that England's Covid-19 mobile phone app will be tweaked so that fewer contacts of asymptomatic people who test positive for the disease will need to self-isolate (Reuters).

NEWS IN BRIEF

The prime minister Boris Johnson said yesterday that he wants to get the 'travel industry moving again? and that a 'simple? and ?balanced approach? is needed to allow for trips abroad (Reuters). Meanwhile, BBC News reports that a proposal to create an amber watchlist of countries at risk of moving to red in the travel traffic light system has been abandoned.

The IHS Markit's purchasing managers' index for the manufacturing sector fell from a record high of 65.6 in June to 60.4 in July (The Times). Despite this fall, the index has now been in positive territory for 14 consecutive months as anything above the 50 mark indicates growth instead of contraction.

As of 4am yesterday, fully vaccinated travellers from the US and EU do not have to self-isolate when arriving in the UK (Sky News).

During the first half of this year, London residents purchased an estimated 61,380 homes outside of the capital - the highest figure for any six-month period since records began in 2006, according to estate agents Hamptons (The Telegraph).

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