Deutsche Bank slams Kwarteng’s targets as ‘impossible’ amid NIESR warning ‘guerrilla tactics’ unsettle markets October 12, 2022 Deutsche Bank’s chief UK economist said this morning Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget was the “straw that broke the camel’s back” to trigger the financial turmoil. Sanjay Raja told the Commons Treasury Committee there is “absolutely a global component” to the issues but he said there is an “idiosyncratic UK-specific component”. He said the “trade shock” because [...]
UK economy on recession cliff edge as GDP unexpectedly shrinks October 12, 2022 The UK is staring over a recession cliff edge, caused by soaring inflation and rising interest rates, that will be lengthened by turmoil in financial markets, official figures published today revealed. The economy unexpectedly shrank 0.3 per cent over the month to August, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Economists had expected gross [...]
Bank of England steps up bond market support again to tame ‘risk to financial stability’ October 11, 2022 The Bank of England today stepped up its emergency bond buying scheme to tackle “a material risk to UK financial stability”. It is the second time in as many days the Bank has ramped up support for the UK bond market, underscoring the scale of volatility it is grappling with. The monetary authority led by [...]
UK headed for stagnation on worst inflation crisis in G7, IMF warns October 11, 2022 A historic hit to Brits’ living standards from roaring inflation and rising interest rates has thrown the UK economy on course to stagnation, the world’s lender of last resort warned today. The UK economy will grow a better than expected 3.6 per cent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) latest World Economic [...]
UK unemployment falls to 50 year-low amid jobs market exodus October 11, 2022 A sharp rise in the number of Brits dropping out of the jobs market altogether has artificially pushed the UK unemployment rate down to its lowest level since the mid 1970s, official figures published today reveal. The volume of people in the UK not looking for work climbed around 330,000 over the last three months, [...]
Brits swap pub for nights in as inflation deals heavy blow to finances October 11, 2022 Brits are responding to the cost of living crunch by ditching the pub for nights in to save money, a survey published today revealed. Consumer spending grew at the slowest rate since February 2021 over the last month, jumping 1.8 per cent over the year to September, Barclaycard said. Inflation has hovered around a 40-year [...]
£62bn of spending cuts needed to balance books, IFS forecasts October 11, 2022 Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng will need to slim the size of the state by £62bn to put the UK’s public finances on a stable footing, a top economic think tank said today. The prime minister and chancellor could be forced to reduce education and transport spending, which suffered deep cuts during the David Cameron [...]
Bank of England doubles daily bond purchase cap, but borrowing costs surge October 10, 2022 The Bank of England has rolled out a raft of measures to help shore up the UK gilt market this morning as it looks to stave off a return to turmoil when it halts its bond-buying programme on Friday.
OBR financial report and government fiscal plan to be delivered on 31 October October 10, 2022 The UK’s spending and borrowing watchdog’s assessment of the government’s tax cutting splurge will be released on 31 October, chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announced today. In a letter to Tory MP and chair of the treasury select committee, Mel Stride, Kwarteng said he has decided to bring the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) forecasts forward from [...]
Marshalls’ shares plummet as firm warns of slowdown in sales October 7, 2022 Shares in building materials manufacturer Marshalls fell almost 20 per cent today after the firm warned of a slowdown in sales due to faltering demand. The West Yorkshire firm said its outturn will be “slightly below the bottom end of the current range of market expectations” as its sales start to slow. The warning comes [...]