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There is just over a month left to check and fill any gaps in National Insurance (NI) records going back to 2006 to boost State Pension entitlement. As a minimum of 35 years of NI is needed to receive the full State Pension payment, anyone who thinks that they may have any gaps in their records should check their entitlement now so they can consider filling these before 5 April.
According to CIPDs Labour Market Outlook, one in four (25%) employers are planning to make redundancies in the three months to March 2025, another record high outside of 2020.
On Friday, Chinese policymakers lowered their inflation target to around 2%. By Monday, the National Bureau of Statistics reported that February's Consumer Price Index (CPI) had fallen 0.7% year over year, with core inflation—excluding food and energy—declining by 0.1% last month.
China’s Caixin manufacturing PMI climbed to 50.8 on Monday, marking its strongest expansion in three months and exceeding expectations. Since last October, the private-sector PMI has consistently stayed above the 50-point threshold that distinguishes growth from contraction.
This week has been relatively quiet for financial markets, but there are signs of renewed momentum in Europe's luxury goods sector which, after a period of sluggish performance, appears to be enjoying moderate revival.