Britain still at risk of ‘mild recession’ despite better than feared start to year, Lloyds Bank chief predicts April 16, 2023 Britain could still suffer “a mild recession” despite the economy performing much better than experts warned at the turn of the year, the head of Lloyds Bank, the country’s largest mortgage lender, has said. Charlie Nunn, chief executive of Lloyds Bank, told The Sunday Times that there is a “more positive outlook” about the UK [...]
UK inflation poised to slip out of the double digits for first time since last summer April 16, 2023 UK inflation is poised to slip out of the double digits for the first time since last summer in what could be the beginning of the cost of living crisis gradually releasing its grip on families over the rest of the year. Official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Wednesday are expected [...]
Unemployment must be higher to keep a lid on inflation, Bank of England’s Huw Pill claims April 13, 2023 A greater proportion of the UK population than before the recent series of economic shocks may need to be unemployed in order to keep a lid on inflation, the Bank of England’s chief economist has claimed today. Huw Pill, who succeeded Andy Haldane as the Bank’s top wonk, was speaking at an event hosted by [...]
UK banks report more defaults – and it’s likely to get worse April 13, 2023 Banks and building societies have seen an uptick in defaults in both secured and unsecured lending – a trend that is expected to continue over the next three months, according to new data published by the Bank of England today. In the three months to February, UK lenders included in the Bank’s credit conditions [...]
UK economy stalls in February but is just about on track to dodge recession in early 2023 April 13, 2023 Britain is just about on track to dodge a recession in the first half of this year, defying gloomy predictions from experts heading into 2023 that the economy would suffer the largest slump in recent memory, figures out today show. Gross domestic product (GDP) – which measures the value of all goods and services produced [...]
Andrew Bailey stresses Bank of England focused on inflation fight rather than Credit Suisse and SVB fallout April 12, 2023 The recent run of chaos in the global financial system that has laid waste to Credit Suisse and Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) has not distracted the Bank of England from trying to tame inflation in the UK, the monetary authority’s chief said today. Speaking at an event at the International Monetary Fund’s spring meeting, Andrew [...]
Recession clouds lift over UK jobs market as hiring begins to recover April 12, 2023 Recession clouds are receding from the UK jobs market as companies gradually regain confidence about hiring workers following a batch of better than expected economic data since the turn of the year, new figures out today reveal. Firms are dipping their toes back in the recruitment market, lured by household spending holding up better than [...]
Megan Greene to replace Silvana Tenreyro on Bank of England’s rate-setting committee this summer April 11, 2023 Megan Greene has been appointed by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to the Bank of England’s interest rate-setting committee, replacing top dove Silvana Tenreyro from 5 July. Greene will join the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) from consultancy Kroll, where she has been global chief economist and a regular columnist for the Financial Times. The Treasury announced [...]
Bank needs to ‘see the job through’ on inflation, says Pill – but divisions remain April 4, 2023 The chief economist at the Bank of England, Huw Pill, has suggested that more work is needed to tame price rises because there is a danger of high inflation becoming embedded in the UK economy. “The onus remains on ensuring enough monetary tightening is delivered to ‘see the job through’ and sustainably return inflation to [...]
Let’s face it: Profiteering is feeding the inflation beast, not just pay rises April 4, 2023 Inflation is a pernicious beast that is plainly bad for people and businesses. It can ease governments’ debt burdens by (artificially) boosting tax revenues, but that can lead to severe bouts of price rises that, often, lead to societal decay. So it’s easy to see why policymakers in the UK are sweating over the rate [...]