Social rent increases may not ‘move dial’ on housebuilding, Rachel Reeves warned August 21, 2024 Rachel Reeves’ plans to increase social rent may not “move the dial in a material way” on council housebuilding, a corporate finance firm is warning. The Chancellor will reportedly up social rent by bringing in a decade-long formula to raise housing costs in England boosted by the CPI inflation measure – currently 2.2 per cent [...]
Compulsory liquidations hit highest level in almost six years August 20, 2024 New figures from the Insolvency Services showed that there were 320 compulsory liquidations in July, the highest number since before the pandemic.
UK could be ‘best performing economy’ so far in 2024 after week of data August 16, 2024 It's been a busy week for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), publishing a raft of statistics on the UK economy for traders and Bank of England ratesetters to digest.
US inflation dips to three-year low August 14, 2024 US inflation reached its lowest since March 2021 in July, coming in at just 2.9 per cent and further strengthening the case for an interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve. Analysts had expected US inflation in July to come in at three per cent, unchanged from where it had fallen to in June. While [...]
UK inflation comes in below expectations in July August 14, 2024 UK inflation jumped back above the Bank of England’s two per cent target in July, but came in below City estimates for the period. According to figures released this morning by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), prices rose 2.2 per cent in July. Meanwhile, core inflation, or price rises excluding volatile food and energy [...]
Solid services sector ‘bodes well’ for UK economy despite stubborn price pressures August 5, 2024 Business activity in the services sector picked up in July, according to a closely watched business survey, suggesting that the economy will continue to grow in the months ahead. S&P’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the services sector picked up to 52.5 last month, rising from 52.1 in June and marginally ahead of the 52.4 [...]
Consumer confidence hit highest level in three years July 19, 2024 Consumer confidence has risen to its highest level in three years in a tentative sign that the economy is leaving the cost-of-living crisis behind, new data from Deloitte shows. In its latest quarterly Consumer Tracker survey, Deloitte found that sentiment grew by 6.8 per cent year on year, boosted by a significant improvement in sentiment [...]
Stubborn inflation could hold back UK growth warns IMF July 16, 2024 In its latest World Economic Outlook, the global fiscal watchdog forecast that the UK would grow 0.7 per cent in 2024, unchanged on its last projection in May.
With wage growth set to fall, the Bank of England should cut rates in August July 16, 2024 Wage growth remains stubbornly high despite the rise in unemployment and fall in hiring. However, this is not a signal for the Bank to hold off on cutting interest rates, Chris Dorrell argues
Business confidence rises to highest level in two years but concerns over costs remain July 10, 2024 "These figures suggest that businesses shrugged off any distraction caused by the general election, as lower inflation and stronger expected sales growth drove an encouraging uptick in confidence in the second quarter," Suren Thiru, ICAEW economics director, said.