Omi-gone: Brits flock back to pubs, bars and restaurants as social spending climbs January 13, 2022 The damaging drag the re-imposition of Covid-19 curbs had on Brits’ confidence is easing, reveal official figures released today. Britons rushed back to pubs, bars and restaurants in the immediate aftermath of Christmas and New Years in a sign that plan B’s blow to the UK services economy will disappear into the ether. Consumers have [...]
Demand for staff swelling: Frantic recruitment efforts as vacancies climb but job candidates dry up January 13, 2022 Demand for staff is growing across the country amid a continued fall in the number of candidates for jobs, new research suggests. Recruiters warned this morning they are placing record numbers of permanent and temporary workers into jobs as demand for staff continues to grow across the country. Meanwhile, the number of available job candidates [...]
Employers still bumping pay despite labour squeeze cooling January 13, 2022 Employers in London and across the UK are still having to offer attractive pay packets to lure workers despite the labour squeeze easing, reveal fresh figures released today. The rate of decrease in the pool of available candidates slowed at the tail end of last year, boosting labour supply, according to research carried out by [...]
City blows away gloomy Brexit forecasts as profits soar at fastest rate since 2015 January 13, 2022 The City is blowing gloomy forecasts that Brexit would hit its financial services industry out of the water, reveals a fresh study released today. Profits at the Square Mile’s biggest banks, brokers and insurers are accelerating at the hottest pace since before Brexit, according to the UK’s leading business group. City firms’ resurgence will help [...]
IFS: Poorest Brits to shoulder worst cost of living shock January 12, 2022 The poorest households in the UK are set to shoulder a harder hit from the cost of living crisis, reveals new analysis released yesterday. The rising cost of energy will erode a greater proportion of poorer households’ income compared to wealthier Brits, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). Less wealthy Brits tend to [...]
London markets jump on industrials rally January 12, 2022 London markets jumped today driven higher by a strong rally among industrial stocks. The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index closed 0.81 per cent higher at 7,551.72 points, while the domestically-focused FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned to the health of the UK economy, squeezed out 0.08 per cent of gains to reach 23,047.16 points. [...]
Red hot inflation to burn £20bn hole in UK public coffers January 12, 2022 Red hot inflation sweeping throughout the UK is set to burn a £20bn hole in the country’s public finances, one of the City’s leading economists warned today. Britain’s intensifying cost of living crisis will erode Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s room for tax giveaways in the run up to the next election. A swelling interest bill triggered [...]
Brits’ experience of previous Covid-19 curbs to quash Omicron GDP hit January 12, 2022 Brits’ resilience and ability to rapidly adapt in the face of soaring Covid-19 infections will insulate the UK economy from the Omicron variant, according to City economists. Experience of previous periods of curbs on daily life implemented by the UK government to tamp down on transmissions has resulted in businesses and consumers being able to [...]
Near-four decade high US inflation print piles pressure on Federal Reserve to act January 12, 2022 Inflation in the US is roaring at the fastest rate since 1982, piling pressure on the Federal Reserve to act now to tame the soaring cost of living across the pond. Prices are seven per cent higher than they were a year ago in December, according to official statistics published by the US Bureau of [...]
US economy ‘no longer needs’ stimulus, declares US Fed chief January 12, 2022 The US economy “no longer needs or wants” ultra-stimulative monetary policy, the chief of the Federal Reserve said yesterday. Jerome Powell told US lawmakers, who were grilling him before deciding on whether to back him to stay in charge of the world’s most influential central bank, that the American economy is strong enough to absorb [...]