Van insurance premiums surge to record highs as inflationary pressures bite August 4, 2022 Van insurance premiums have surged to record highs, after increasing for six consecutive months in a row, due to soaring inflation and widespread price hikes in response to new rules banning the practice of “price walking”. The cost of insuring a van increased by 13.6 per cent during the first six months of the year, [...]
Defence giant Meggitt’s order book value teeters around £1bn ahead of takeover August 4, 2022 Meggitt’s orders are up nearly 50 per cent, teetering around the £1bn mark, as the British defence manufacturer undergoes a foreign takeover. The London-listed firm’s order book has been valued at £996.9m in the six months to 30 June, up from £671.4m in the same period last year, Meggitt revealed today. Revenue has jumped more [...]
Bank of England’s interest rate rise at noon: Brokers and agents across the City give their two cents August 4, 2022 The governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, and the rest of the monetary policy committee will hike interest rates 50 basis points today at 12pm. The main reason? Living costs are up 9.4 per cent over the last year, crimping households and businesses and threatening to plunge the UK economy into recession. Energy [...]
UK construction output in ‘contraction territory’ for first time since pandemic August 4, 2022 The UK’s construction output has fallen for the first time since last January, according to US analytics giant S&P Global. Despite healthy employment rates in the country, civil engineering and housing activity declined in July amid spiralling inflation which has hit raw materials, fuel and labour. Gareth Belsham, director of property consultancy and surveyors Naismiths, [...]
D-Day in the City: Bank of England set to make history today by raising interest rates by record 50bps August 4, 2022 Today the Bank of England could make history by raising interest rates by 50bps for the first time since the Monetary Policy Committee was set up back in 1997. In June, the vote was a split decision, and it is quite likely that this one could be too. Then, three members of the MPC voted [...]
UK inflation to surge above 15 per cent, more than seven times Bank of England target August 4, 2022 The Bank of England faces the grim prospect of overseeing the largest inflation surge in recent memory, with prices rising more than seven times faster than its target, a top think tank warned today. A sustained surge in energy costs triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a sudden burst in demand after the Covid-19 [...]
Vast majority of UK businesses struggle to get staff back into the office as workers demand flexibility August 4, 2022 Three in five UK business leaders are struggling to get employees back in the office, with younger workers in particular seeking flexibility and better workspaces. In fact, two-fifths seeking a new workspace to reflect their changing office needs, according to new research shared exclusively with City A.M. this morning. infinitSpace found that more than a third of [...]
Evraz profits plunge 99.5 per cent as sanctions hit August 4, 2022 Russian steel giant Evraz saw its profits fall by 99.5 per cent in the first half of the year after sanctions were slapped on the firm in May and demand for its products dried up.
Go-Ahead bidders add another £22m to their offer to give takeover of transport giant the final push August 4, 2022 The bidders planning to buy transport operator Go-Ahead Group have upped their offer by more than £20m. Australian bus network Kinetic and Spanish transport firm Globalvia agreed to take over Go-Ahead in June for around £647m. But the consortium of investors raised their takeover bid by £22m to about £669m today despite not having any [...]
Households face two painful energy bill hikes this winter as Ofgem confirms quarterly price cap August 4, 2022 The consumer price cap will be updated four times a year rather than twice, raising the prospect of painful hikes in energy bills this winter.