Interest rates should remain high for ‘some time to come’, OECD warns February 5, 2024 The OECD warned that labour costs remain too high to be compatible with inflation returning to target on a sustainable basis.
UK services activity rises at fastest pace in eight months February 5, 2024 The UK's services sector saw a "solid increase" in business activity last month, as well as an uptick in job creation, according to a closely watched survey.
Unemployment lower than previously thought according to ONS following revamp of data collection February 5, 2024 The ONS has been forced to improve the accuracy of its flagship Labour Force Survey after falling response rates raised questions about the accuracy of the data.
Insolvencies forecast to hit 33,000 in 2024 despite improving economic outlook February 5, 2024 According to new forecasts from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), there could be more than 8,000 insolvencies per quarter in 2024.
UK companies facing second-highest level of financial ‘distress’ in Europe February 5, 2024 UK businesses are facing the second-highest level of “deepening” financial distress in Europe due to inflation and high interest rates.
Moving markets: Five things shaping the FTSE 100 today February 5, 2024 Asian markets dip while oil prices hold steady amid Gaza ceasefire talks. Attention is on the RBA policy decision, China inflation, PMIs, and U.S. CPI
Strong US jobs report pushes March rate cut ‘off the table’ February 2, 2024 The US added 350,000 new jobs last month, almost double the expected 180,000, suggesting that the US economy was strong enough that a cut in interest rates in March from the Federal Reserve is now “off the table”. The economy added jobs to almost every sector in January, with professional and business services gaining a [...]
FTSE 100 today: London markets likely to rise on heels of Wall Street’s tech rally February 2, 2024 A tech rally ignites global stocks: Meta soars 15%, while Amazon climbs 7%. Apple drops 3% amidst market turbulence, while oil prices surge. Focus now shifts to U.S. Non-Farm Payrolls.
Tech giants Meta and Amazon drive tech rally; Apple suffers from China woes February 2, 2024 Meta surged 15% post-market on strong revenue, dividend, and a $50 billion buyback; Amazon rose 7% on solid earnings and AWS growth; however, Apple fell 3% on a China sales miss and revenue forecast drop.
After four holds in a row, when will the Bank of England cut interest rates? February 1, 2024 Policymakers did not answer this question directly, but they did give some guidance as to the factors at play.