UK factories on course to sink into recession next year December 12, 2022 UK factories are on course to sink into recession next year driven by the wider economic slowdown and swelling costs cooling activity, a new survey out today shows. Manufacturing output will shrink 3.2 per cent in 2023, according to Make UK and BDO. The pair have been consistently slashing their forecasts for industrial output throughout [...]
London economy contracts as rampant inflation chills spending December 12, 2022 London’s economy contracted last month as it is squeezed by roaring inflation and swelling business costs, a new survey out today shows. Rampant price rises prompting a spending slowdown from consumers sent a chill through businesses in November, according to NatWest’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI). The high street bank’s PMI dropped to a 22-month low [...]
City braces for final economic figures before Christmas break December 11, 2022 The City is bracing for a string of big economic announcements in what will be the final busy week of news before the Christmas break. Tomorrow, fresh gross domestic product (GDP) figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) are expected to show the UK economy recovered in October. But, the 0.4 per cent growth [...]
Regime shift: investing into the new era December 9, 2022 | City Talk As this economic cycle ends, we shouldn’t expect to see the patterns of the past decade repeated. A new regime in policy and market behaviour is unfolding which investors need to understand if they are to find the best opportunities and safeguard their portfolios. The re-opening of economies after Covid sparked a phenomenon investors have [...]
Hunt to unveil post-Brexit Big Bang 2.0 for UK financial services industry December 8, 2022 Jeremy Hunt will finally unveil the government’s plans to shred EU financial services laws today as he proposes a package to boost the City’s global competitiveness post-Brexit. Hunt will deliver the landmark announcement in Edinburgh this morning, with the chancellor set to drop Solvency II capital requirements on insurance firms and ease current bank ring-fencing [...]
FTSE 100 dogged by investors souring on Ashley’s Frasers Group December 8, 2022 London’s FTSE 100 was dogged down today by retail tycoon Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group sinking to the bottom of the index. The collection of the capital’s top companies dropped 0.23 per cent to 7,472.17 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, fell 0.56 [...]
UK jobs market wobbles after months of defying economic reality December 8, 2022 The UK jobs market is looking increasingly fragile after months of defying economic gravity, a new survey out today reveals. KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation’s (REC) permanent hiring index came in at 46.4 points last month, below the 50 point mark that separates growth and contraction. Despite the index indicating businesses are cooling [...]
Capital can’t be complacent about attracting new talent December 7, 2022 The perils of business journalism are many but one that is often under-remarked upon is the danger of drowning in data releases. Inboxes our end are full of new analyses, some of relatively questionable value, and it is sometimes hard to see the wood from the trees. Not so yesterday when the latest iteration of [...]
Exclusive: Treasury tax raid to drag 200,000 Londoners into higher rate December 7, 2022 NEW analysis suggests that almost a quarter of a million Londoners will be dragged into the higher rate tax band as a result of Jeremy Hunt’s decision to freeze income tax thresholds in the Autumn Statement. Some 213,165 workers in London, and 122,543 more across the wider south-east, will paying the 40 per cent rate [...]
FTSE 100 knocked by BP and Shell tumbling as oil prices slump December 7, 2022 London’s FTSE 100 was dragged down today by BP and Shell sinking on oil prices taking a tumble. The capital’s premier index fell 0.43 per cent to 7,489.19 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, dropped 0.89 per cent to 18,930.57 points. Oil [...]