UK living standards to drop at steepest rate since WW2 on Moscow energy supply fears March 1, 2022 The surge in energy prices triggered by the Russia-Ukraine conflict will drive inflation beyond eight per cent, generating the worst squeeze on household living standards since the second world war. Sustained elevated prices for oil and gas will heap an additional 1.5 percentage points on to the cost of living, resulting in a 2.2 per [...]
Russian miners to get the boot from FTSE 100 March 1, 2022 Russian miners are set to be booted from London’s top index tomorrow as a rapid investor sell off since Moscow invaded Ukraine has sent their shares spiralling. Evraz, which has operations in Russia and Ukraine, has had more than 80 per cent shaved off its share price since the start of the year, with around [...]
British factories tackle bulging order book as supply chains come back online March 1, 2022 An unravelling in supply chain snarl ups is freeing up materials for British factories to use to clear an enormous backlog of work, reveals a closely watched survey published today. Improvements in the functioning of the global logistics system has restored flows of components used by British manufacturers, allowing them to complete work snowballed due [...]
Spotlight on SPACs: more risk than opportunity? March 1, 2022 | City Talk It is never a good idea to invest in a SPAC just because someone famous sponsors or invests in it or says it is a good investment. While special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) have been around for decades, they have attracted unprecedented interest and investment since the first wave of Covid-19. Amid this recent boom, entrepreneur Richard [...]
Households hunker down finances as they brace for worsening cost of living crunch March 1, 2022 Households are hunkering down their finances in preparation for the cost of living crunch to tighten, reveals official data published today. Brits cut back on spending last month and channeled money into their savings accounts to offset a future deterioration in their budgets caused by soaring inflation. Households added £7.8bn to their savings accounts last [...]
London’s top indexes edge higher as investors mull next Russia-Ukraine developments March 1, 2022 London’s top indexes jumped this morning as investor fears over the potential fallout of economic sanctions levelled against Russia tempered. The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index added 0.2 per cent to rise to 7,473.42 points, while the domestically-focused FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, edged down 0.07 [...]
Reforming fiscal regime is no taxing issue March 1, 2022 Amid the surplus of analysis devoted to improving the UK tax system, debate over whether the government’s current and future level of spending sometimes slips by. With interest rates expected to climb as the Bank of England leans even further into hawkish policy and inflation already hitting near 30-year highs, the cost of borrowing will [...]
CBI: Permanent investment relief needed to unlock economic growth March 1, 2022 Creating a permanent tax relief on business investment will unlock a well of productivity hidden in the UK economy, according to Britain’s biggest business group. The government should strengthen incentives for businesses to ramp up capital spending by using the super deduction as a model to create a permanent investment scheme, the Confederation of British [...]
Destruction of Russian-focused stocks leads London’s top indexes lower February 28, 2022 A NEAR destruction of Russian exposed London-listed stocks held the City’s top index lower today in a wild day of trading on the Square Mile. The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index lost as much as 1.4 per cent during the morning, before finishing down 0.42 per cent at 7,458.25 points. Meanwhile, the domestically-focused FTSE 250 [...]
Russia’s economy plunges into chaos as Western sanctions bite February 28, 2022 Russia’s economy has been plunged into chaos after Western sanctions triggered a collapse in the country’s currency today. The value of the rouble tumbled as much as 30 per cent against the dollar today, dropping to its lowest ever level against the global currency benchmark. The sharp and sudden weakening in the rouble prompted Russia’s [...]