UK inflation jumps to 5.4 per cent: Highest rate in almost 30 years January 19, 2022 The rate of Consumer Price Index inflation increased to 5.4 per cent in December from 5.1% in November, the Office for National Statistics has said. Grant Fitzner, chief economist at the Office for National Statistics (ONS), said: “The inflation rate rose again at the end of the year and has not been higher for almost [...]
Strong jobs market print fails to dampen inflation fears on London markets January 18, 2022 Inflation jitters spreading throughout the City led London markets sharply lower today. The capital’s premier FTSE 100 dipped below the 7,600 mark by closing the day down 0.63 per cent, while the domestically-focused FTSE 250 fell 0.96 per cent to 22,652.71 points. Figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) today revealed the unemployment [...]
Brits’ living standards eroded by inflation spike casting doubt over economic recovery’s strength January 18, 2022 An inflation squeeze that is choking Brits’ pay packets is threatening to throttle the consumer led recovery. Brits’ take home pay is being corroded by the cost of living spiralling to the highest rate in recent history, revealed figures published yesterday by the Office for National Statistics. The damning data comes as the City braces [...]
Trade with Ireland takes a £3bn Brexit hit as UK exports drop by more than a fifth in less than a year January 18, 2022 Exports from the UK to the Republic of Ireland crashed by more than a fifth since Brexit, according to new figures coming from Dublin. Numbers published by Ireland’s Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that the value of goods imports from Great Britain fell by almost £3bn from January to November last year. The drop in [...]
Hiking state pension age to 70 is unavoidable, warns top think tank January 18, 2022 Hiking the state pension age to 70 is unavoidable over the coming years, a top think tank warned today. The UK public finances are likely to buckle under the weight of the strain placed on them from having to fund Brits’ retirement packages, according to the International Longevity Centre (ILC). The cost of funding the [...]
British businesses miss out on productivity gains by shunning trade January 18, 2022 British firms are missing out on productivity gains by shunning overseas trade, according to one of the UK’s leading business bodies. Just one in 10 British businesses are involved in overseas trade, reveals a fresh study published by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) yesterday. Firms that are involved in exporting and importing goods and [...]
Inflation to near 30-year high as Brits prepare to tighten their belts January 17, 2022 The cost of living in Britain will swell to its highest level in nearly three decades, some of the City’s leading economists warned today. Soaring energy bills, compounded by a sharp rise in the price of second-hand cars and petrol costs, will drive inflation to 5.3 per cent, according to Sanjay Raja, Deutsche Bank’s senior [...]
FTSE 100 breaks another post-lockdown record by breaching 7,600 mark January 17, 2022 London’s premier index smashed another post-lockdown record yesterday in a sign investors are looking through the Covid-19 crisis. The FTSE 100 closed 0.91 per cent higher yesterday, breaching the 7,600 mark for the first time since January 2020. Sentiment was boosted by international investors waking up to the fact that large swathes of companies listed [...]
Davos: Xi says China’s ‘common prosperity’ drive is not egalitarianism January 17, 2022 Xi Jinping has declared China’s “common prosperity” agenda, which has seen a government crackdown on wealthy firms, is not about pursuing egalitarianism. The Chinese President also called for a change to the current “Cold War mentality” in light of the growing conflict between China and the US. Beijing’s common prosperity drive is aimed at narrowing [...]
China economy whacked by Omicron curbs and stalling property sector January 17, 2022 China’s economy is growing at the slowest pace in a year and a half as the world’s second largest economy contends with a concoction of headwinds, revealed official figures released today. Gross domestic product (GDP) jumped four per cent over the three months to December compared to the same period last year, the National Bureau [...]