Homeowners on edge as inflation and interest rates rise: What is next for UK mortgage rates? July 26, 2022 Many people up and down the country will be feeling the financial strain of the cost-of-living crisis, and this’ll only add more pressure on the monthly budgets of millions of UK mortgage homeowners and of those currently looking to buy. With the Bank of England’s base rates having risen to 1.25 per cent in June [...]
European Central Bank marks first rate rise in over a decade with shock 50 basis point move July 21, 2022 The European Central Bank (ECB) today marked its first interest rate rise in over a decade with a shock 50 basis point move. The biggest inflation surge in the eurozone since the creation of the single currency in 1999 forced President Christine Lagarde and co to launch the bigger hike. The Continent’s monetary authority has [...]
Brussels slashes EU growth forecasts as euro faces ‘end of the beginning’ of US dollar slide July 14, 2022 The worst inflation surge in a generation driven by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will choke European economic growth, revealed fresh forecasts published today. Predictions for output growth this year among the 27 members of the European Union (EU) remained unchanged at 2.7 per cent, but the European Commission (EC) downgraded expansion in 2023 by nearly [...]
Demand for alternative assets to rise 46 per cent over next 12 months July 13, 2022 Demand for alternative assets is set to soar by 46 per cent over the next 12 months as rising inflation sends investor interest surging. In a survey by alternative investment platform AssetTribe and market research firm Survation, 53 per cent of the 580 investors surveyed across the UK and Europe said their appetite for alternative [...]
Euro kisses parity with US dollar for first time in two decades July 12, 2022 The euro kissed parity with the US dollar for the first time in 20 years today. Fears of the Continent tipping into recession have strengthened recently due to bets that Russian president Vladimir Putin will choke energy supplies to the bloc. The currency used by 19 countries – soon to be 20 when Croatia adopts [...]
Euro tumbles to 20-year low against the dollar on rising recession risk July 5, 2022 The euro has tumbled to its lowest level against the dollar in two decades caused by investors ditching European assets on fears the bloc will tip into recession soon. The currency used by 19 European countries – soon to be 20 when Croatia joins the union next January – fell around 1.3 per cent against [...]
Germany registers first trade deficit since 1991 on surging energy prices July 5, 2022 Surging European energy prices caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has left Germany with its first trade deficit in over three decades, official figures released today revealed. German imports outstripped exports for the first time since 1991, generating a €1bn (£862m) trade deficit in May, according to the country’s statistics agency. Exports dropped 0.5 per [...]
Global consumer confidence plunges to new lows on inflation spike June 28, 2022 Consumers in rich countries have never been more glum as inflation takes its toll on household balance sheets. Confidence in Germany, Europe’s economic powerhouse, dropped to minus 27.4 this month, the lowest level since record began, GfK said today. The figures come as another survey published by GfK last Friday revealed UK consumer confidence has [...]
Lagarde: European Central Bank will go ‘as far as necessary’ to tame inflation June 28, 2022 The European Central Bank (ECB) will go “as far as necessary” to tame the worst bout of inflation on the Continent since records began, its chief said today. President Christine Lagarde said at the ECB’s monetary policy summit that the central bank’s commitment to getting the rate of price rises back to its two per [...]
German factory prices surge at fastest pace since 1940s June 20, 2022 German factory prices are accelerating at the quickest pace since the late 1940s, propelled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine lighting a fuel under European energy prices, official stats published today revealed. Producer prices jumped 33.6 per cent over the year to May, the biggest rise since Germany’s statistics agency started tracking the data in 1949. [...]