UK inflation smashes forecasts again raising chances of larger Bank of England interest rate hike June 21, 2023 UK inflation is still outpacing experts’ predictions and is running at a level that could lure the Bank of England into an outsized interest rate hike tomorrow, heaping more pain on families and businesses. Official figures out this morning from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the rate of price hikes held steady at [...]
UK debt pile tops size of entire economy for first time since 1960s June 21, 2023 Britain’s debt stock has swelled to larger than the size of its economy for the first time since March 1961, pushed higher by the government helping families with their energy bills, new numbers out today show. The UK’s over £2.5 trillion debt pile represents 100.1 per cent of the value of its gross domestic product, [...]
UK pay still rising at three decade high in headache for Bank of England June 21, 2023 UK pay has risen at its fastest pace in over three decades for the fifth quarter in a row in a sign that the Bank of England may have to keep raising interest rates to get ahead of inflation, new figures out today show. Workers notched an average six per cent wage increase in the [...]
FTSE 100 close: Interest rate concerns linger as NatWest heads lower June 20, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 struggled for gains today as investors took a cautious approach before the Bank of England’s expected 13th straight interest rate rise on Thursday. The capital’s premier index shed 0.25 per cent to close at 7,569.30 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the [...]
Bank of England risks steering UK into needless recession with more interest rate hikes June 20, 2023 Back in November, the Bank of England took the highly unusual step of explicitly telling financial markets to calm their sky high bets on where interest rates might end up. “Should the economy evolve broadly in line with the latest monetary policy report projections, further increases in bank rate may be required for a sustainable [...]
FTSE 100 close: London index slips ahead of Bank of England interest rate decision as Next jumps June 19, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 slipped today ahead of a huge week for the UK economy, pushed lower by a resurgent pound knocking sentiment toward Britain’s biggest companies. The capital’s premier index fell 0.71 per cent to 7,588.49 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, [...]
Adam Smith 300: Adam Smith Institute founder Dr Eamonn Butler on how morality guided the father of economics June 19, 2023 Nobody changed the dismal science of economics quite like Adam Smith, the Scottish philosopher, author of The Wealth of Nations and The Theory of Moral Sentiments, and father of market economics. June marks the 300th anniversary of Smith’s baptism – nobody quite knows his actual birthday – and to mark the occasion, German historian and [...]
Bank of England to raise interest rates for 13th time in a row this week to tame persistent inflation June 19, 2023 The Bank of England is nailed on to raise interest rates for the thirteenth meeting in a row this Thursday, but markets think there’s an outside chance Governor Andrew Bailey and co will revert to an outsized rise to tame what is emerging as the worst inflation problem in the rich world. Markets reckon the [...]
Pubs closing at fastest pace in a decade as high interest rates and energy bills crush Britain’s boozers June 19, 2023 Pubs are closing at the quickest pace in a decade and experts have warned a further wave of failures are on the way, new research out today shows. Some 620 of Britain’s watering holes disappeared over the year to the end of March, a 68 per cent increase from the 369 failures in the same [...]
House prices drop for first time this year as Bank of England interest rate hikes take hold June 19, 2023 House prices have dropped for the first time this year, sparked by the property market being whacked by the Bank of England’s 12 successive interest rate hikes to quash inflation, new figures out today show. The average price of a home coming to market fell £82 over the last month to £372,812, the first drop [...]