Why today’s inflation numbers are much, much worse than you think May 24, 2023 Inflation in the UK has trimmed to its lowest level in over a year. It has also dropped out of the double digits for the first time since last August. Hooray! These are milestones that shouldn’t be welcomed with much joy, especially given that outside of the last 18 months or so, inflation barely budged [...]
FTSE 100: Sticky inflation figures spook markets as investors brace for rate hike pain May 24, 2023 London’s flagship index tumbled in early trading this morning as investors took fright at sticky inflation figures that could trigger further interest rate hikes this year.
Inflation falls out of double digits to lowest level in a year but tops forecasts May 24, 2023 UK inflation has fallen into single digits but the price of food continues to spiral at the fastest rate in four decades.
FTSE 100 close: Stress over US debt ceiling talks drag London index as IMF ditches UK recession forecast May 23, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 nipped lower today as investors zeroed in on the latest developments in talks between Republicans and Democrats about raising the debt ceiling. The capital’s premier index slipped 0.1 per cent to 7,762.96 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, dipped [...]
Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey and chief wonk Huw Pill admit they botched inflation forecasts May 23, 2023 Top officials at the Bank of England today admitted they have undershot the strength of inflation, with governor Andrew Bailey confessing the central bank has some “very big” lessons to learn over how it sets interest rates. MPs on the influential treasury select committee slammed members of the monetary policy committee (MPC) for failing to [...]
The Notebook: Victoria Scholar on the Fed’s new move, Adidas’s Yeezy problem and Shell’s AGM showdown May 23, 2023 | City Talk Where the City’s movers and shakers get a few things off their chest. Today, it’s Interactive Investor’s Victoria Scholar. After 10 straight hikes, is it now time for a ‘Fed skip’? Forget the hike, pause and cut, the new word to enter the lexicon of central bank watchers is the ‘Fed skip’. US monetary policymakers [...]
Swelling debt interest bill fashions second highest April government borrowing on record at £25.6bn May 23, 2023 A near £10bn debt interest bill helped to push UK borrowing to the second highest monthly total for April since records began in 1993, official figures out today reveal. The government took on an additional £25.6bn of debt last month, above market expectations and up from £13.7bn in the same month last year, according to [...]
IMF ditches UK recession call and lifts GDP growth from bottom of G7 May 23, 2023 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) today joined the Office for Budget Responsibility and Bank of England in admitting they were wrong to forecast the UK will suffer a tough recession this year. The globe’s lender of last resort in fresh forecasts hiked its gross domestic product expectations in 2023 to 0.4 per cent. It previously [...]
Yes, inflation will fall – but back to Bank of England target? Well, that’s anyone’s guess May 23, 2023 Inflation is definitely on its way down, but no thanks to the Bank of England – well, yet. Most of the drop will be driven by energy price rises falling out of the ONS’s numbers. Tomorrow’s figures are poised to start that descent, with the rate of inflation probably falling to around eight per cent [...]
Amount of time it takes to hire workers drops to seven year low of just over a month May 23, 2023 The amount of time it is taking businesses to hire staff has slimmed to its lowest level in seven years in a sign friction in the jobs market is beginning to unwind, new research out today shows. Employers left roles advertised on job boards on average for 37 days over the last year, down from [...]