Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt must help families with soaring childcare bills to strengthen UK economy, CBI urges March 1, 2023 Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt should help young families with the cost of childcare to tackle worker shortages that are holding back the UK economy, the country’s largest business lobby group has urged today. British households have been spiked by a 60 per cent cash terms rise in childcare bills over the last decade, far [...]
FTSE 100 close: Ocado drags London premier index into red as pound strengthens after Sunak clinches Brexit deal February 28, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 lost ground again today, held lower by middle class favourite and online supermarket Ocado tumbling after it said losses have widened. The capital’s premier index fell 0.74 per cent to 7,876.29 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, was broadly [...]
ECB expected to hike rates to a record four per cent as central bank struggles to tame inflation February 28, 2023 The European Central Bank (ECB) will hike interest rates to their highest level since the monetary authority of the group of countries using the euro was created in 1999, markets are betting. President Christine Lagarde and the rest of the governing council, Europe’s equivalent to the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee, are poised to [...]
End of Bank of England £800bn bond buying scheme poses headaches for Treasury and taxpayers February 28, 2023 The magic money tree is shedding its leaves. Over a decade of cheap cash propping up the global economy has been toppled by a once in a generation inflation problem. QE was a necessary response to the batch of shocks ricocheting around the global economy since 2008. Now it’s shifted into reverse. But how did [...]
IFS: No room for tax cuts or spending rises at March budget despite Jeremy Hunt pocketing £60bn windfall February 28, 2023 There is no room for tax cuts or spending increases at the 15 March budget despite Jeremy Hunt being handed an around £60bn windfall from lower energy prices and interest rates, a top economic think tank has forecast today. The Chancellor will be held back from handing households and businesses a tax giveaway due to [...]
London businesses sweat over UK recession risk as experts warn on cost of living pressures February 28, 2023 Uncertainty over whether the UK economy will tip into recession this year has led London businesses to sweat over their finances this year, a closely watched survey out today reveals. Optimism among the capital’s companies slid 19 points in February to 18 per cent, arresting a steady upward rise in confidence, according to Lloyds Bank’s [...]
FTSE 100 close: Bunzl and Rolls Royce help London index shrug off interest rate and inflation woes February 27, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 opened the week in positive territory today as investors appeared to shrug off concerns about inflation and how forcefully central banks would respond to it. The capital’s premier index jumped 0.72 per cent to 7,935.12 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the [...]
Government criticism of FCA’s consumer duty slammed by former watchdog official February 27, 2023 The City minister’s damning comments on planned consumer protection rules are a case of the government criticising the Financial Conduct Authority “for doing exactly what [it] has told it to do”, a former top regulator has said. City minister Andrew Griffith was reported to be scathing of the FCA’s planned consumer duty, which is set [...]
London to power UK economy away from recession and clinch best growth across the country February 27, 2023 London will power the UK economy out of recession and is poised to be the fastest growing area in the country over the coming years, new forecasts out today reveal. The capital’s economy is on track to expand 2.6 per cent each year between 2024 and 2026, pushing it to the top of the countrywide [...]
Recession fears chill UK investment as CBI urges Jeremy Hunt to rethink tax grab at March budget February 27, 2023 British businesses are poised to mothball investment due to uncertainty over whether the country is on course to tip into a recession and a looming tax grab, a new survey out today indicates. Fears of a slowdown in spending caused by families’ finances being squeezed by the cost of living crisis has knocked optimism among [...]