Emeritus Professor Joe Nellis is Head of Economic Research at MHA, the accountancy and advisory firm.   Inflation in the Eurozone has edged higher again, rising from 2.9% in July to 3.3% in August. This is a cause for concern – reinforcing worries that price pressures are proving more stubborn than policymakers would like and raising concerns that interest rates may have to rise again in the near future.  But does the European Central Bank have to act now? Having already raised interest rates in June, rising inflation adds weight to the case for another hike in September. On the one hand, this is due to short-term economic shocks. Energy prices have significantly increased in the last six months as a result of the Middle East crisis, and clearly a resolution to the ongoing conflict would bring welcome relief for the European economy. If this is just a temporary spike in prices, more restrictive monetary policy is not necessary and could derail an already teetering European economy.   However, the ECB cannot afford to let transitory inflation become embedded, and therefore structural. If inflation expectations stay high, higher costs will begin feeding through into wages and services inflation, creating the conditions for long-term inflation troubles. As inflation surged across 2021 and 2022, the ECB took the position that this was a ‘transitory’ phenomenon, holding rates low and allowing inflation to become embedded. If needed, policymakers will be ready to raise rates to prevent this happening again.   The ECB faces a dilemma: a trade-off between higher interest rates and economic cost. Higher borrowing costs will continue to squeeze heavily indebted households, weaken housing markets and make investment more expensive for businesses. For SMEs in particular, another increase in financing costs could mean investment plans being indefinitely postponed or abandoned altogether.   Governments across the Eurozone also face an uncomfortable trade-off. Higher interest rates increase the cost of servicing public debt, potentially reducing the fiscal room available for tax cuts, infrastructure investment and other spending priorities. Attempts to compensate households through broad fiscal support could, meanwhile, add further demand to the economy and complicate the ECB’s task of bringing inflation to a halt.   The wider concern, therefore, is not simply that inflation has passed 3%. It is that the Eurozone — and more broadly, Europe — could enter the last quarter of the year stuck between sticky inflation and increasingly restrictive monetary policy. The ECB’s top priority remains price stability, but the economic cost of achieving this may become an expensive burden that the Eurozone economy can ill-afford.

In this article, I share how to build a stronger sales culture for sustainable growth.

Hundreds more cancer patients receiving chemotherapy at East Surrey Hospital and Crawley Hospital can now be offered scalp cooling, after gdb members support for the hospital charity helped fund new machines to double capacity in both chemotherapy units.

By Andrew Hookway, Founder and MD of Extech Cloud.  Many organisations in West Sussex and Surrey rely heavily on Microsoft 365 to manage emails, documents, collaboration and day-to-day operations. It has become the backbone of modern business, yet despite its widespread adoption, many companies are unaware of one of the most valuable security indicators available within the platform, which is Microsoft Secure Score.

St Catherine’s Hospice is delighted to announce the launch of a new partnership that will significantly increase its lottery income over the coming years...

Planning your company Christmas celebration? Reigate Manor has a fantastic programme of festive events this year, with plenty of options for teams of all sizes.

South East construction company recognised for growth, leadership and employee ownership.

A lot of us in the Gatwick Diamond have noticed the cranes going up around the airport this year. What I don't think everyone has clocked yet is what that £2 billion of construction work actually means for anyone sitting on a spare property nearby — it means people, and people need somewhere to stay. I've written a bit about what's changed in short-term let and serviced accommodation lending, and why this corner of Sussex is worth a proper look right now.

The strongest leaders don’t just manage tasks well. They manage themselves, their relationships and their responses.

Tell us your views on plans to reduce the causes of climate change and prepare for its impacts...

The county council and BID leaders focused on the importance of maintaining their close relationship and working in partnership to attract investment and drive improvements in the area for businesses and employees.     

The railway line between Haywards Heath and Lewes will reopen to passenger services on Tuesday 1 September following a major recovery operation and repairs to the track after the derailment on Thursday 13 August.

Somebody counted it up for me the other week: the UK has managed seven prime ministers in ten years. The Gatwick Diamond, by contrast, has had the same seven council areas throughout. By April 2027, two of them will have a different name on the letterhead. Andy Burnham has been in post since 20 July, following June's resignation at Number 10. My phone got busy shortly afterwards, and almost none of it was about politics. A family printing and packaging business over towards Horsham rang me. Three generations in, they have outgrown their unit and want to buy something bigger. They had parked the decision in the spring and were wondering whether they had been sensible or simply slow. That is the question underneath every one of these conversations. Not what the government thinks. Whether the money is there, and what waiting really costs. So here is where things stand, for a region of 45,000 businesses and a £24bn economy spread across seven councils and roughly 750,000 people.

At around 15:54 on Thursday 13 August 2026, train 1F34, the 14:24 London Victoria to Eastbourne passenger service, operated by Southern (Greater Thameslink Railway), derailed at Lewes in East Sussex.

From legislative reform to workplace reality - Join our annual employment & immigration law update, for HR professionals & business leaders.

National accountancy and advisory firm, MHA, the UK member firm of Baker Tilly International, has moved into Crawley as part of a wider investment in the Gatwick Diamond, creating a platform for growth following its IPO and increasing demand for its services across the South East...

UK inflation has moved back in the wrong direction, rising from 2.6% in June to 2.9% in July. While the increase was widely expected, it is a signal that inflation is likely to rise across the latter half of 2026.

Don't forget to register for the University of Chichester's Business Breakfast event being held on Tuesday September 8th as part of our research and innovation week...

The UK economy continues to bump along without any momentum as the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.9% in June, with weakness in job vacancies and slower wage growth pointing to a labour market that is considerably less tight than a year ago.

Little Barn Owls Forest & Farm School Nursery in Southwater is celebrating a remarkable Ofsted inspection, receiving three ‘Exceptional’ and three ‘Strong’ gradings under the new inspection framework.