Week ahead: Bank of England to rock markets with 75bps rate hike October 30, 2022 Markets are preparing for a steep rate hike by the Bank of England on Thursday, but not as bad as first feared after former prime minister Liz Truss’s tax cutting mini-budget last month. London’s premier FTSE 100 index posted a decent performance last week, adding 1.12 per cent to close at 7,047.67 points, while the [...]
Government eyes bank surcharge U-turn despite Lloyds profits tumbling October 27, 2022 Britain’s biggest mortgage lender, Lloyds Bank, has set aside hundreds of millions of pounds in preparation for a surge in loan defaults caused by the rising cost of living and higher interest rates squeezing household budgets. The lender today said it had banked £668m over the three months to September to absorb souring loans, primarily [...]
FTSE 100 weighed down by banks and pound strengthens on Sunak’s second day in No 10 October 26, 2022 London’s FTSE 100 was dragged down today by investors ditching shares in the UK’s largest banks despite a strong set of results, but managed to squeeze gains thanks to a late rally. The capital’s premier index jumped 0.61 per cent to over the 7,000 mark points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is [...]
Top brewer warns average cost of a pint may now exceed £7 October 26, 2022 A top Brewer has said the average cost of a pint could cost reach £7 due to the cost of living. Scottish beer-maker Brewgooder’s chief executive Alan Mahon said the cost of raw ingredients were reaching “eye-watering” levels, pushing up the cost of a cold brew. Mahon said C02 was now costing 3,000 per cent [...]
Pound surges and UK debt costs tumble on Sunak’s first day as PM October 25, 2022 Rishi Sunak on his first day as prime minister promised “hope” everyday after addressing the UK’s economic challenges, but it already seemed that way for the pound today. Sterling surged as much as 1.8 per cent against the US dollar, pushing it far above the $1.03 record it reached after former PM Liz Truss’s disastrous [...]
Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary: Worldwide inflation good for our growth October 25, 2022 The world’s surge in inflation rates will help Ryanair’s growth as people will not stop flying altogether, but will rely instead on budget airlines. “We think recession [and] price inflation is very good for our growth,” chief executive Michael O’Leary told journalists today in Lisbon. European countries have in fact been hit by soaring inflation [...]
UK borrowing costs fall after Sunak wins race to No 10 October 24, 2022 UK borrowing costs fell sharply today after former chancellor Rishi Sunak seized the keys to Number 10 following leadership contender Penny Mordaunt’s withdrawal. Yields on the 10-year gilt fell around 30 basis points today to below four per cent. Yields and prices move inversely. They had been falling in early morning trading after Boris Johnson [...]
This is a global, not a UK specific, economic slowdown October 24, 2022 Much attention has been devoted to the comings and goings at Number 10 Downing Street and the ailing economy in recent weeks, but the UK is not alone in wilting under the weight of soaring prices and interest rates. The eurozone economy, made up of the 19 countries that use the euro, is on course [...]
UK headed for ‘deep recession’ on political turmoil and soaring interest rates October 24, 2022 The UK could be hurtling toward a “deep recession” caused by a mixture of political turmoil and soaring prices forcing the Bank of England to hike interest rates steeply, a closely watched survey out today reveals. Britain’s private sector economy shrank sharply this month, with contraction rates returning to levels last seen in January 2021 [...]
Brits cutting spending sends profit warnings soaring October 24, 2022 Brits cutting spending in response to the cost of living crunch has driven a sharp uptick in the number of businesses warning profits will fall short of expectations, a new report out today shows. Some 86 listed companies issued a profit warning in the three months to September, up from 51 over the same period [...]