The Rest Is Money 252. The £1 trillion war chest: why the UK is stronger than you think
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Feb 16, 2026 Karen Ward, Chief Market Strategist for EMEA at J.P. Morgan Asset Management and former Treasury adviser, shares sharp market and economic analysis. She explores the UK’s £1 trillion private savings buffer and why confidence lags. She discusses global populist spending forcing bond markets to police fiscal promises. She also highlights the UK’s AI strengths and the risks around valuation and volatility.
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Signal Fiscal Stability To Unlock Spending
- Avoid repeating large-scale fiscal uncertainty if you want that saved cash to be deployed into growth.
- Provide clear, credible fiscal signals to prompt businesses and households to spend and invest.
Productivity Gains May Be Illusory
- Recent productivity gains may reflect weak employment rather than true output per worker improvements.
- Job cuts have concentrated in low-productivity sectors, so headline productivity may not signal durable living-standard gains yet.
UK Is Well Placed For An AI Lead
- The UK ranks highly in AI capability thanks to its universities and research clusters.
- That positions Britain to translate AI advances into productivity and new businesses if confidence and investment follow.