UK debt burden to top size of whole economy putting Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt pledge at risk, IMF forecasts April 12, 2023 Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt are on course to oversee the UK’s debt burden swelling to more than the size of the entire economy, putting one of the pair’s five pledges to taxpayers in peril, according to new forecasts out today. Britain’s debt to GDP ratio is tipped to climb to just over 101 per [...]
Recession clouds lift over UK jobs market as hiring begins to recover April 12, 2023 Recession clouds are receding from the UK jobs market as companies gradually regain confidence about hiring workers following a batch of better than expected economic data since the turn of the year, new figures out today reveal. Firms are dipping their toes back in the recruitment market, lured by household spending holding up better than [...]
Megan Greene to replace Silvana Tenreyro on Bank of England’s rate-setting committee this summer April 11, 2023 Megan Greene has been appointed by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to the Bank of England’s interest rate-setting committee, replacing top dove Silvana Tenreyro from 5 July. Greene will join the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) from consultancy Kroll, where she has been global chief economist and a regular columnist for the Financial Times. The Treasury announced [...]
IMF: UK economy to toy with recession this year – and fall to the bottom of global growth leaderboard April 11, 2023 Britain is steering toward the bottom of the G7 economic growth table this year and will toy with a recession for most of 2023, the world’s economic watchdog warned today. UK gross domestic product is tipped to shrink 0.3 per cent per cent in 2023, the weakest performance of any economy in the group of [...]
IMF: Risks to financial stability have ‘increased rapidly’ but won’t threaten fight against inflation April 11, 2023 Risks to financial stability have “increased rapidly” since October last year but they were unlikely to be big enough to distract central banks from fighting inflation, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said today. The global economic watchdog’s biannual financial stability report pointed to a range of different threats to financial stability following the turmoil in the banking [...]
FTSE 100 close: Glencore and Rio Tinto power London index upwards despite downbeat IMF projections April 11, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 kicked off a shortened trading week in robust fashion today, lifted by miners scaling higher despite the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warning the global economy is on course to suffer a sharp slowdown over the coming decade. The capital’s premier index jumped 0.57 per cent to 7,785.73 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap [...]
Soft landing? Why the latest jobs data could leave the Fed with a tricky call April 10, 2023 Analysts are divided about whether the US Federal Reserve should hike rates again as they digest last week’s figures on the labour market. On Friday last week, a closely watched survey of the US labour market showed the economy added 236,000 new jobs in March. While more jobs are still being added, the report suggests [...]
IMF and World Bank meetings: What will central bankers and finance chiefs be talking about? April 10, 2023 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank are meeting in Washington this week for their Spring meeting with the stability of the banking sector high up the agenda. Finance ministers and central bankers from around the world will come together with much to discuss, particularly after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank sent shockwaves [...]
US economy adds 236,000 jobs in March as Fed rate hikes help cool labour market April 7, 2023 The US added 236,000 new jobs in March, the latest sign that the labour market is beginning to cool as the US Federal Reserve (Fed) continues to hike interest rates. The number of new jobs fell below the number added in February and the average monthly gain of 334,000 recorded in the last six months, [...]
Global growth to dive below three per cent and stay there till 2028, IMF chief warns April 6, 2023 World economic growth will dip below three per cent during 2023 and is likely to stay at that level for the next five years, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said today. Kristalina Georgieva, IMF managing director, made the assessment during a prepared speech while visiting Washington DC in advance of the IMF [...]