ECB expected to hike rates to a record four per cent as central bank struggles to tame inflation February 28, 2023 The European Central Bank (ECB) will hike interest rates to their highest level since the monetary authority of the group of countries using the euro was created in 1999, markets are betting. President Christine Lagarde and the rest of the governing council, Europe’s equivalent to the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee, are poised to [...]
Why is the UK economy poised to tumble into a recession and fall behind Europe, US and even Russia? February 16, 2023 Britain avoided a much-tipped recession at the end of last year. Phew. “However, we are not out of the woods yet,” warned Chancellor Jeremy Hunt after last Friday’s GDP figures from the ONS revealed the economy stagnated at the end of 2022, meaning it narrowly avoided the technical recession definition of two consecutive quarters of [...]
US inflation eases for seventh straight month but pace of decline loses momentum in headache for Fed February 14, 2023 US inflation eased for the seventh month in a row in January, but the pace of decline is beginning to level off, official figures out today reveal. The pace of price increases in the world’s largest economy on an annual basis fell to 6.4 per cent, down from 6.5 per cent, according to the US [...]
FTSE 100 live: London index pulls away from record high as US dollar strengthens on Fed rate hike bets February 6, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 climbed down from its record high to kick off the week today, dragged lower by big British retailers taking a tumble. The capital’s premier index dropped 0.87 per cent to 7,833.20 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, edged 0.10 [...]
Over 500,000 US jobs created in January but what does ‘awe upside surprise’ mean for Fed’s rate hike cycle? February 3, 2023 More than half-a-million new jobs were created in the US this month, leading to renewed fears the Federal Reserve could hike up interest rates when it meets next month. Statistics from the US Department of Labor howed jobs rose by 517,000 in January, while the unemployment rate changed marginally, at 3.4 percent. This week the [...]
Federal Reserve hikes rates 25 basis points in sign Powell is nearing end of inflation fight February 1, 2023 The US Federal Reserve has climbed down to the lowest interest rate hike in nearly a year in a sign the world’s most influential central bank is nearing the end of its aggressive campaign to tame a historic inflation surge. Fed chair Jerome Powell and the rest of the federal open market committee (FOMC) backed [...]
FTSE 100 close: London index runs out of steam ahead of expected Fed interest rate hike February 1, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 edged higher this morning, before running out of steam later in the day ahead of the US Federal Reserve launching a big week for central banks with an expected 25 basis point interest rate hike. The capital’s premier index eventually fell 0.17 per cent to 7,758.21 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE [...]
FTSE 100 close: Bleak IMF UK recession warning knocks pound and London index January 31, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 dipped and the pound stumbled today, both driven lower by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warning the UK is on course to be the only major economy to contract this year. The capital’s premier index fell 0.17 per cent to 7,771.69 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more [...]
When will the Bank of England, Federal Reserve and ECB start cutting interest rates? Sooner than you think January 31, 2023 Central banks around the world this year are going to take their lead from an unlikely source: the Bank of Canada. While being the central bank of a G7 country, it’s not exactly the biggest of players in the global monetary policy and financial network. Tiff Macklem, the BoC’s chief, has led one of the [...]
US economy races ahead of UK despite Federal Reserve crushing Americans with rate hikes January 26, 2023 The US economy is growing much faster than expected despite the Federal Reserve piling pressure on Americans with aggressive interest rate hikes to tame inflation, official figures out today show. Stateside gross domestic product (GDP) climbed 2.9 per cent over the three months to December, better than the 2.6 per cent growth pencilled in by [...]