Rampant inflation forces Brits to dip into Covid-19 savings February 1, 2022 Brits are unleashing the enormous stock of savings amassed over the course of the Covid-19 crisis to maintain spending amid soaring inflation, reveal fresh official figures released today. Households are turning to drawing down savings due to the intensifying cost of living crunch stretching their budgets. The combined £3.2bn jump in households savings over the [...]
PMI: British factories shake off Plan B to clear swelling order backlog February 1, 2022 British factories shook off the Omicron variant and Plan B to focus on clearing a swelling backlog of work, reveals a closely watched survey released today. Business among UK manufacturers climbed at the fastest pace in half a year in January, driven by factories tackling mounting order books built up during 2021 when the trading [...]
National insurance hike to spike UK firms just as they recover from Plan B and Omicron February 1, 2022 The national insurance hike is set to spike UK businesses just as they have recovered from the Omicron and Plan B-induced economic hit, reveals a fresh survey released today. Firms are deeply concerned that a combination of the national insurance (NI) hike and swelling energy bills will limit their capacity to survive, according to research [...]
London markets post mixed day to kick off week as Vodafone climbs January 31, 2022 London markets kicked the week off in mixed style yesterday despite investors taking kindly to news that telecoms giant Vodafone is being targeted by an activist investor. The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index edged down 0.02 per cent to 7,464.37 points, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of [...]
British stocks primed to reverse years of underperformance January 31, 2022 UK stocks are primed to turnaround years of underperformance and embark on a “winning streak,” according to analysis by a top City consultancy. London markets are ready to capitalise on the world’s top central banks launching a rate hike spree this year to get on top of inflation, according to Pantheon Macroeconomics. The FTSE 100 [...]
Cream of central banking crop have underestimated inflation crunch, experts warn January 31, 2022 The world’s top central banks have underestimated the stickiness of inflation spreading throughout rich economies, prompting them to launch a quicker than expected rate hike cycle this year. Measures used to quantify the severity of underlying inflation pressures will stay high even by the end of the year in most rich countries, according to fresh [...]
Levelling down London will hamstring the rest of the country, report warns January 31, 2022 The levelling up agenda will hamstring the UK economy if it moves business outside of London, reveals a fresh study published today. The government will fail in its ambition to narrow regional inequalities by pushing to stimulate economic activity across the UK “at London’s expense,” according to consultancy EY. Choking London’s contribution to the British [...]
Furlough scheme protects route back to work for young Brits January 31, 2022 The furlough scheme shielded young Brits from the worst economic impact of the pandemic, allowing them to return to work rapidly, reveals a fresh study released today. Despite fears over a wave of redundancies after the furlough scheme was wound down at the end of September, three in four young people who were unemployed during [...]
Typical British household pays over £1m in taxes in their lifetime… before national insurance hike January 31, 2022 The average household in the UK pays over £1m in taxes in their lifetime even before the national insurance hike comes into effect, reveals a fresh study released today. The new research underlines the heavy tax burden Brits are already shouldering even before the 1.25 percentage point national insurance hike takes effect in April. According [...]
Week ahead: City braces for another Bank of England rate hike January 30, 2022 All eyes will be on Threadneedle Street this week as the City braces for another rate hike from the Bank of England. The Old Lady is widely expected to lift borrowing costs again on Thursday, marking the first time the central bank has hiked rates at successive meetings since 2004. The Bank lifted rates for [...]