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The Bank of England has held its benchmark interest rate steady at 0.75 per cent, in line with expectations. The BoE's nine-member rate-setting committee voted unanimously for no change.
The OECD meanwhile has warned that the world economy faces its worst growth in a decade, pointing to the increasing threat posed by Donald Trump's trade war with China.
The organisation slashed its forecast for global growth this year from 3.2 per cent to 2.9 per cent and also significantly downgraded its outlook for next year.
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The Bank of England is expected to keep interest rates at 0.75 per cent when its Monetary Policy Committee reports at midday.
Before that the latest retail sales figures are about to be revealed. Will consumers continue to be resilient in the face of Brexit uncertainty?
Next boss Lord Wolfson has told the PA news agency that he will cut prices by around 2 per cent if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Retail sales hold up despite Brexit woes
Retail sales grew 0.6 per cent in the latest quarter, a slight improvement that shows consumers are still spending despite political turmoil
However, the pace of growth has slowed from a peak in March and the trend is downward:
£60bn of government support needed to reduce damage of no-deal, says think tank
The government should deliver a £40bn "stimulus package" of additional public spending and tax cuts to soften the blow of a no-deal Brexit, the Resolution Foundation has said.
According to the think tank, a further £20bn should be offered to help companies deal with trade disruption.
James Smith, research director of the Resolution Foundation, said:
"The Government says it wants to leave the EU with a deal, but has also made it clear that it is prepared to leave without one.
"The Government and Bank of England therefore need to be ready to respond with a bold package of measures to limit the damage to households and firms of a no-deal Brexit.
"Unlike in the past, the Chancellor will need to take the lead in this response. He should announce a significant stimulus package of tax cuts and spending increases to support households in the face of a no-deal economic shock, as well as measures to help firms through the temporary turbulence many are likely to face."
Month-to-month, sales fell 0.2 per cent in August but a number of analysts have said this was predictable.
"Following two consecutive monthly gains, a fall in sales in August was always likely," says Andrew Wishart, UK Economist at Capital Economics.
"In the event, sales fell by 0.2% which dragged annual sales growth to a three month low. However, with real wages growing at their fastest pace since June 2016 we doubt sales growth will ease off any further.
Howard Archer, chief economic advisor to the EY Item club says the August slide could be indicative of wider problems.
"The soft retail sales add to the impression that the economy had a challenging August after GDP rebounded 0.3% month-on-month in July, although the economy will have been helped by the fact that car manufacturers brought forward their usual summer shutdowns to April (due to Brexit concerns) from August."
OECD slashes global growth forecast to lowest since great recession
The global economy is set for its slowest growth since the aftermath of the financial crisis a decade ago, according to the The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
The OECD has slashed its forecast for global growth in 2019 from 3.2 per cent to 2.9 per cent, warning of increasing risks to the global economy from a US-China trade war.
Next year, the OECD predicts growth of 3 per cent, significantly lower than its previous forecast of 3.4 per cent.
Tesla takes on Porsche
Elon Musk's electric car company wants to take on the engineering might of Porsche by beating it in a time trial around Germany's fables Nuerburgring race track.
Tesla's Model S recorded an unofficial time that was faster than Porsche's rival electric car, the Taycan, according to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.
An official record attempt for four-door electric cars is set for this Saturday. Neurburgring records have frequently been used by as a marketing tool by car makers who claim that they are a demonstration of technical superiority.
Such bragging rights will be much-prized by Mr Musk, an early entrant into the electric car business who is now facing competition from the likes of Audi, Mercedes and BMW as they launch their own models.
The OECD also says that Brexit will slash 3 per cent of UK GDP over the next three years.
By contrast, the EU faces just a 0.6 per cent hit.
“The best thing is to avoid a no-deal Brexit and to stay as closely aligned to the EU as possible,” says Laurence Boone, the OECD’s chief economist.
'Persistently low growth'
The OECD's assessment is pretty bleak, particularly about the impact of trade tensions surrounding Brexit and Donald Trump's tariff war.
The economic outlook is deteriorating, for both advanced and emerging economies, and global growth may remain stuck at a persistently low level in the absence of strong policy measures.
The exacerbation of trade conflicts is increasingly weighing on confidence and investment, which increases policy uncertainty, exacerbates capital market risks, and jeopardizes the already weak growth that is taking place. draws in perspective on a global scale.
Debenhams wins court battle against Mike Ashley's Sports Direct
Debenhams' programme of store closures will go ahead under a CVA insolvency process as planned after the department store chain won a case in the High Court brought by Sports Direct.
Mike Ashley's firm and a number Debenhams' landlords had challenged the terms of the turnaround plan, which saw rents on stores slashed and the value of Sports Direct's stake in Debenhams wiped out.
Bank of England interest rates decision
The BoE's Monetary Policy Committee has left its benchmark rate on hold at 0.75 per cent, as expected.
The MPC's nine members voted unanimously in favour of keeping rates where they were.
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