Bank of England finally administers bitter medicine to treat inflation August 4, 2023 The City has been ahead of the Bank of England’s thinking for some time. Economists have for months known interest rates are set to stay higher for longer. Most expect them to peak at 5.75 per cent and stay there for, probably, at least a year. Governor Andrew Bailey and co have woken up to [...]
Bank of England interest rate decision today on a knife edge, City economists predict August 3, 2023 As the City gears up for what everyone expects to be the Bank of England’s 14th straight interest rate rise at midday today, economists are split over how much more pain they think the group of rate setters will heap on the UK economy. Are the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) poised to meet market expectations [...]
Tighter interest rates and inflation clobber UK business confidence August 1, 2023 Higher interest rates and elevated prices have thrown a wet blanket over UK business optimism, according to surveys out today. Confidence as measured by the lobby group the Institute of Directors (IoD) was largely unchanged last month at minus 30 points, up marginally from June’s minus 31 point reading. It solidifies signs that pessimism is [...]
Food inflation slumps to lowest level this year but experts caution against declaring victory yet August 1, 2023 Food inflation has slipped to its lowest level this year and has fallen for the third month in a row, an encouraging signal that suggests the UK is through the worst of the cost of living crisis, a new survey out today shows. The cost of groceries climbed 13.4 per cent over the year to [...]
Are central banks to blame for the inflation crisis? August 1, 2023 As we enter what looks like the final leg of central banks’ interest rate rising journeys, it’s as good a time as ever to trace why they have been jolted into action after over a decade of ultra loose policy and whether their response to the inflation crisis has been effective. Coming out of the [...]
Bank of England interest rate rises yet to pass fully through economy as borrowing ticks up July 31, 2023 The effects of the Bank of England’s aggressive interest rate rises have yet to fully feed through the UK economy as Brits continue to borrow and look to get on the property ladder, official data out today shows. A clutch of numbers released by the Bank of England today revealed consumers are not yet being [...]
Bank of England to hike interest rates for 14th time in a row to 2008 high of 5.25 per cent July 31, 2023 The Bank of England this week is tipped to hike interest rates for the 14th time in a row as it extends its fight against roaring inflation. Members of the nine-strong monetary policy committee (MPC) are expected on Thursday to back a 25 basis point increase to the UK’s official interest rate, which would send [...]
UK private economy wilts amid high inflation and interest rates, CBI survey shows July 31, 2023 Britain’s private sector economy is being trapped by high inflation and elevated interest rates and companies fear growth will continue to contract, a new survey out today shows. Research by the lobby group the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has found that activity across the private sector – which generates most output in the UK [...]
Don’t ‘clobber’ Londoners with ULEZ, Rachel Reeves says July 27, 2023 Now is not the right time to “clobber” Londoners with the ULEZ charge, Labour shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has said. The shadow chancellor has weighed in on the ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) expansion row engulfing City Hall and Labour politics in the wake of the Uxbridge by-election defeat. She told the Sun she was [...]
Are wages or profits to blame for the inflation crisis? July 26, 2023 A lot of energy has been wasted on finding the source of the near two-year long global inflation surge. It has resembled a cathartic process to help families and businesses come to terms with how damaging the cost of living crisis has been. First Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey drew scorn for demanding workers [...]