The Latest: UK telco BT has successfully deployed automated robotics and an Internet of Things (IoT) management system to support the agricultural project Robot Highways. Although a positive development, we maintain that scalability - and broader telco support - will be critical to widespread adoption of agricultural technology (AgTech).

Implica

Key View

• Volatility in the gilt market has picked up again this week, ahead of the planned end on October 14 of the Bank of England emergency asset purchase scheme that was launched to stabilise the market after its adverse reaction to the UK government’s ‘mini-emergency budget’ on September 23.
• We suspect that if the Bank does opt not to

Key View

• After a sell-off prompted by the new UK government’s fiscal easing plans, the Bank of England has stepped in to stabilise the gilt market through the targeted purchase of longer-dated securities.
• The Bank’s intervention should be viewed in the context of its role as lender of last resort, rather than a dovish pivot. We continue to

Key View

• The formation of a new government of the United Kingdom on 6 September 2022, following the appointment of Liz Truss as Prime Minister, raises the potential for a moderation in the market's conducive policy environment for construction and infrastructure as other policy areas receive greater attention.
• Government efforts are set to

Key View

• On September 5 2022, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss was chosen as Boris Johnson’s successor as leader of the Conservative Party, and thus the UK’s new Prime Minister, taking office at what is a difficult time for the UK as it hovers on the brink of recession.
• Fiscal risks are rising to the fore given Truss’s support for unfunded tax

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• On June 13 2022, the UK Government published a new food strategy intended to support the UK’s agribusiness sector, to enhance national food security (in light of the pressures applied to the UK’s food system by the Covid pandemic), to ensure that a healthy, varied diet is both affordable and sustainable, and to develop export

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• We at Fitch Solutions have revised slightly higher our forecast for UK real GDP growth in 2022 from 3.5% to 3.6%, following the release of modestly better than expected Q2 data (-0.1% q-o-q vs forecast -0.2%).
• However, we have taken down our projection for growth in 2023 from 0.6% to just 0.2%, largely in response to worsening cost

Key View

• In line with our own expectations and market pricing, the Bank of England hiked Bank Rate by 50 basis points (bps) to 1.75% at its August policy meeting in what was an 8-1 decision.
• We at Fitch Solutions now forecast that Bank Rate will peak this year at 2.50%, with elevated inflation likely to reduce the ability of the Bank to pivot

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• According to reports, UK operator Virgin Media O2 is in talks to acquire rival broadband provider TalkTalk.
• The deal reportedly values the broadband operator at GBP3bn. If materialised, the operation would result in the merged group becoming the second-largest broadband operator in the UK, with a combined market share of 30%.
• In the

Key View:

• At Fitch Solutions we anticipate that UK wheat production will reach 14.02mn tonnes in 2021/22, representing 45.19% y-o-y growth, before increasing by 3.56% in 2022/23, reaching 14.52mn tonnes.
• Our production forecasts are partly driven by an expected increase in the average yield from 6.9mt/ha in 2020/21, to 7.82mt/ha in 2021/22