Bank of England signs off biggest rate hike in nearly 30 years August 4, 2022 The Bank of England today ripped up the history books and hiked interest rates by the largest amount in its 25 years of independence. The nine-strong committee of rate setters, including governor Andrew Bailey, backed a 50 basis point rise by 8-1 in a bid to step up their battle against the worst inflation surge [...]
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 [...]
Sunak and Truss’s room for tax cuts is ‘limited’, OECD warns August 3, 2022 Tory leadership hopefuls Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak’s room to cut taxes is limited, a top global economic institution said today. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said an ageing society and the need to boost public sector investment to lift growth will keep government spending higher for decades, limiting “the scope for [...]
Threat of stagflation returns for first time since 1970s as UK enters early stage of drawn-out recession August 3, 2022 The UK is in the early stages of a drawn out recession that will tip millions of households into financial crisis, reveals fresh forecasts published today. An inflation surge driven by an unprecedented rise in energy bills will steer the economy into recession this quarter and keep it there until early months of next year, [...]
Bank of England to rip up history books at this week’s rate decision August 3, 2022 Soaring inflation will force the Bank of England to do something it has never done since it was made independent 25 years ago, City economists are betting. Governor Andrew Bailey and the rest of the monetary policy committee (MPC) will hike interest rates 50 basis points this Thursday. The move would also mark the sixth [...]
London markets lose early gains despite UK banks’ best efforts August 1, 2022 A bumper crop of results from Britain’s largest lender and Asia-focused HSBC initially boosted London markets today, before an afternoon collapse. The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index dropped 0.13 per cent to 7,413.42 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, added 0.22 per [...]
Brits scale down inflation expectations in sign BoE rate hikes are quashing price pressures August 1, 2022 British households are scaling down their expectations for future inflation in a sign that the Bank of England’s series of rate hikes are curbing price pressures, a fresh survey published today revealed. The UK public in July thought inflation will settle at 3.8 per cent in five years, down from four per cent in June, according [...]
Week ahead: City braces for biggest Bank rate hike since independence July 31, 2022 The City will this week be bracing for what could be the steepest interest rate rise since February 1995. London’s premier FTSE 100 index posted a strong performance last week, climbing just over two per cent to 7,423.43 points. The mid-cap domestically-focused FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK [...]
NatWest ups dividends as profits surge on the back of interest rate hikes July 29, 2022 NatWest today upped its dividend after its pre-tax profits increased 13 per cent to more than £2.6bn for the first half of 2022. Higher lending incomes on the back of the Bank of England’s interest rate hike lifted NatWest’s finances and saw the bank raise its full-year revenue forecast to around £12.5bn, up from previous [...]
Powell invokes Volcker spirit with second successive 75 point hike July 27, 2022 The US Federal Reserve today doubled down on its efforts to chase down the biggest inflation shock in recent memory by hiking rates 75 basis points for the second time in a row. Chair Jerome Powell and the rest of the federal open market committee backed another big rise to cool America’s overheating jobs market [...]