As UK economics editor, my life for the last week has felt a lot like surrealist movie Being John Malkovich — but with Rachel Reeves in the central role.

Rachel Reeves delivered her big speech on growth. It contained a number of measures: some good (the Oxford/Cambridge arc tops that list), some bad (the third runway at Heathrow) and some added to give the list of growth initiatives the appearance of a more even regional distribution (the regeneration of Old Trafford).

Rachel Reeves is set to announce a series of major infrastructure projects in a speech in which she is also expected to back plans for a third runway at Heathrow Airport. The chancellor will outline plans to create "Europe's Silicon Valley" between Oxford and Cambridge,

We got the latest UK employment data this morning. With the usual caveats around its reliability, there are signs of the market slowing — unemployment rose from 4.3% to 4.4% — but wage growth remains strong. Both regular pay and pay with bonuses rose by 5.6% in the year to November, which means wages are rising well ahead of inflation.

British finance minister Rachel Reeves spelled out her plans to revive the country's slow-moving economy on Wednesday, adding to recent pledges to reform investment and planning rules with a commitment to back airport expansion at Heathrow.