UK vacancies run at 1m in every month for last two years July 24, 2023 UK businesses are still hungry to take on workers despite the economy slowing under the weight of high inflation and interest rates, a new survey out today shows. Vacancies are up for the fifth month in a row and have now been at least 1m in every month since June 2021, according to research by [...]
Brits finally sober up to high inflation and interest rate hikes as confidence slides July 21, 2023 Brits have finally sobered up to the damaging impact high inflation and the Bank of England’s interest rate hikes to tame it is having on their finances, a closely watched survey out today shows. Consumer confidence has dropped for the first time since January, down six points to minus 30 in July, according to research [...]
FTSE 100 close: Dovish Bank of England interest rate bets extend London gains July 20, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 extended gains today as traders continued to cheer signs that UK inflation may have finally turned a corner. The capital’s premier index hopped 0.76 per cent to 7,646.05 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, was broadly unchanged at 19,311.73 [...]
I’ve loved every minute of it July 20, 2023 Without aviation insurance, people can’t fly,” says Mark Skilton, Aon’s chairman of Global Speciality within the firm’s Reinsurance Solutions business. Therein lies the rub of the entire insurance industry – a sector that, often in the background, keeps the world moving. And in doing so, it often has to move at speed: Skilton explains to [...]
It showed insurance is a tangible thing July 20, 2023 It can lead you astray,” says Rupert Moore with a chuckle as we discuss Japan’s variety of fried food options. It’s a country he knows well – Moore, now UK CEO of Reinsurance Solutions for global professional services giant Aon, worked out there for the firm for 10 years. And it’s to Japan he goes [...]
The insurers trying to get their heads around the new world of war July 20, 2023 We knew what war was. Wars used to look like people dropping bombs and people with guns,” Tom Murray tells me from the distinctly unwarlike setting of an Aon meeting room. “It was relatively easy to understand. Now we suddenly have this incredibly rapidly evolving field of cyber war – which could be a fundamental [...]
Mortgage costs slip for first time since May as Bank of England rate bets cool on inflation drop July 20, 2023 Mortgage rates have dropped for the first time in two months, sparked by banks passing on a reduction in interest rate bets after yesterday’s better than feared inflation figures. The average rate on two-year mortgages fell to 6.79 per cent yesterday from 6.81 per cent, according to financial data provider Moneyfacts. It is the first [...]
New sustainability reporting standards are a game changer for businesses July 20, 2023 In June, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) published its long-awaited inaugural standards for sustainability reporting. The launch of the standards is widely regarded as a hugely important milestone in the global fight against climate change. By providing a global baseline for businesses to report comparable information on sustainability issues, the new standards should make [...]
Bank of England must keep raising rates to finally kill off inflation, City experts say July 20, 2023 The Bank of England should not yet let up on raising interest rates to ensure inflation has finally been defeated. That’s the verdict of City economists despite the Office for National Statistics today revealing the cost of living fell faster than expected to 7.9 per cent in June, down from 8.7 per cent in May. [...]
Inflation tumbles faster than expected to its lowest level in over a year at 7.9 per cent July 19, 2023 Inflation has slimmed to its lowest level in over a year and is falling faster than expected, raising the chances of the Bank of England hiking interest rates at a slower pace next month, official figures out today reveal. The rate of price growth fell to 7.9 per cent in June, down from 8.7 per [...]