Week ahead: Bank of England speak to dominate agenda as investors look for clues on interest rate path February 26, 2023 Investors will be parsing over a string of speeches from top Bank of England rate setters this week for clues on whether the central bank is close to ending its aggressive campaign to tame inflation. Ben Broadbent, a deputy governor at the Bank, kicks off a busy week of central banker speech at Threadneedle Street’s [...]
UK edges further away from recession as families’ economy and inflation outlook brightens February 24, 2023 Another brighter than expected set of economic numbers out today indicate the UK has a chance of avoiding a much-tipped recession this year. Consumer confidence climbed faster than forecast to minus 38 points this month, up seven points from minus 45 points in January, according to research firm Growth for Knowledge’s index which has been [...]
Bank of England Mann warns interest rates need to keep rising to squash inflation February 23, 2023 Interest rates in the UK will have to keep rising to prevent inflation sticking around for too long, a member of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee (MPC) warned today. Catherine Mann, who joined the rate setting group in September 2021 as an external member, said at an event hosted by the Resolution Foundation [...]
Britain passing up £18bn economic boost due to ‘failure’ to build enough homes February 23, 2023 Britain is passing up on a near £18bn economic boost due to the government and businesses’ “failure to build enough new” homes, a former Tory housing minister has claimed today in a new report. Brandon Lewis, ex-housing and planning minister, in a foreword to a report by think tank Policy Exchange said decades of weak [...]
FTSE 100 close: Wall Street sell off spreads to London pushing premier index further away from 8,000 point mark February 22, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 was drawn into a sell off on Wall Street last night, pushing it further below the 8,000 point threshold today. The capital’s premier index fell 0.59 to 7,930.64 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, slid 0.82 per cent to [...]
UK inflation will drop back to Bank of England two per cent target by end of this year, economists predict February 22, 2023 Inflation in the UK is on track to fall exactly back to the Bank of England’s target by the end of this year, according to forecasts by two top City of London economists. The rate of price increases will tumble to two per cent in the final three months of 2023, according to Pantheon Macroeconomics. [...]
Cost of living crisis forces Brits to abandon saving, with more than one in five taking on EXTRA debt February 22, 2023 The cost of living crisis is poised to force Brits to shun setting cash aside each month for a rainy day, official figures out today show. More than four in 10 of the population expect to save no money whatsoever over the next year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Inflation has raced [...]
Jeremy Hunt faces calls for March budget giveaways after UK borrows £30bn less than forecast February 21, 2023 The UK government spent less than it reaped in from taxpayers last month helping to push yearly borrowing £30bn lower than projected by forecasters, officials figures out today reveal. The difference between what the government generated in revenue and spent hit a positive £5.4bn, meaning the UK’s public finances were in surplus last month, according [...]
FTSE 100 close: London index dips below 8,000 point mark on interest rate hike fears February 21, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 closed below the 8,000 point today driven lower by a broad sell off fuelled by investors sweating over more interest rate rises from central banks. The capital’s premier index slipped 0.46 per cent to 7,977.74 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the [...]
Glimmers UK will avoid recession this year emerge as experts cheer return to growth in PMI February 21, 2023 Warnings that the UK is headed for a recession may have been misplaced after figures out today revealed private businesses returned to growth for the first time in half a year. S&P Global and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply’s (CIPS) composite flash purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for February hit 53 points, up from [...]