Pound slumps as City cuts Bank of England interest rate bets after shock inflation fall July 19, 2023 Pound sterling today has tumbled sharply in response to markets reining in their expectations for further interest rate hikes from the Bank of England. Britain’s currency shed nearly one per cent against the US dollar, its largest fall in months, to buy $1.29. It was down a similar amount against the euro at €1.15. The [...]
Why lower inflation should cause the Bank of England to tread carefully July 19, 2023 And breathe. The City and Bank of England have waited a long, long time for the Office for National Statistics to provide some good inflation news. Headline consumer price index inflation down to 7.9 per cent. Core inflation below seven per cent. Services inflation lower at 7.2 per cent. It is the first time that [...]
Bank of England dishes out £25m in bonuses despite Andrew Bailey demanding wage restraint July 19, 2023 The Bank of England has dished out tens of millions of pounds in bonuses despite Governor Andrew Bailey and other senior officials demanding workers accept real terms pay cuts. Threadneedle Street rewarded staff with a total of £25m in one-off handouts over the last year, up from £23m in the previous year, according to a [...]
UK profit warnings hit highest yearly level since 2008, outside of pandemic July 19, 2023 The proportion of UK-listed companies that issued profit warnings in the past year was higher than any year since 2008, outside of the pandemic, according to new analysis. It comes as higher borrowing costs and a tougher sales environment have weighed heavily on businesses. Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange issued 66 profit warnings [...]
Pay growth stays at three decade high but inflation still stripping away wages July 19, 2023 Pay growth is running at its fastest pace in over three decades and has remained unchanged for the second quarter in a row, in a sign the Bank of England may have to back a bigger interest rate hike again next month. New figures out today from XpertHR reveal wages leapt six per cent in [...]
FTSE 100 close: Ocado drags London index into black as markets brace for inflation data July 18, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 squeezed out gains today that have pushed it back into the black in 2023, propped up by shares in online grocer Ocado soaring after a decent set of results. The capital’s premier index jumped 0.64 per cent to 7,453.68 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with [...]
Income for richest UK households is nearly four times larger than poorest, ONS finds July 18, 2023 The richest households in Britain earn nearly four times as much as the poorest, although government tax and benefit spending has kept income inequality in check in the UK over the last year, according to official figures out today. Top earners made £83,700 last year, 3.8 times higher than the £22,300 average final income of [...]
In defence of landlords, by the Bank of England July 18, 2023 Few people in Britain draw as much scorn than landlords. It’s easy to understand why. Young people shackled to renting see landlords as a barrier to their homeownership dreams. Particularly in London, renters hate handing over a huge share of their monthly wage to property investors. Doing so stops them from using their cash [...]
FTSE 100 close: Slowing China economy sends London index into red as Barclays and NatWest jump July 17, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 kicked off a fresh week today in downbeat fashion, dragged lower by signs that China’s economic recovery from the pandemic is whittling away. The capital’s premier index shed 0.38 per cent to close at 7,406.43 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the [...]
US Federal Reserve will slash interest rates in March 2024, Morgan Stanley bets July 17, 2023 The US Federal Reserve will in the early part of next year slash interest rates for the first time since the onset of the Covid-19 crisis, Wall Street analysts are betting, Researchers at Morgan Stanley have said they expect the federal open market committee (FOMC) to bring rates down in the first quarter of 2024, [...]