Recession: Experts divided on whether UK economy will avoid dreaded R word September 11, 2023 The UK economy has avoided a recession so far this year, to the surprise of many analysts, but that does not mean it is out of the woods yet.
Berkeley: Housebuilder warns of plummeting sales value amid property market volatility September 8, 2023 Berkeley has warned its value of private sales reservations has fallen 35 per cent on last year, reflecting the challenges facing the housing market. The housebuilder said the drop echoed the “elevated macroeconomic and political volatility”. It comes after house prices in August were revealed to be 4.6 per cent lower than the same month [...]
Rising rates will see wealthy receive £60bn in savings windfall, analysis shows September 6, 2023 Rising interest rates will create a windfall for the wealthy, new analysis shows, with household savings accumulating tens of millions more than in recent years.
Bank unlikely to pause rate hikes despite 28,000 insolvencies forecast for 2024 September 4, 2023 Over 28,000 firms could go under next year due to the burden of higher interest rates, a top think tank has warned.
Bank of England to leave interest rates higher for longer as inflation becomes embedded September 3, 2023 Economists are warning that interest rates will have to stay higher for longer as inflation remains persistently above the Bank of England’s two per cent target. Although the headline rate of inflation in the UK is starting to fall, core inflation increased month-on-month in July indicating that inflation is becoming increasingly embedded in the UK [...]
Manufacturing downturn ‘deepens’ as production drop among fastest on record September 1, 2023 UK manufacturing hit a steep slump this month, figures revealed, as production dropped by a rate “one of the fastest in survey history”. According to the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) the UK manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) recorded 43.0 in August, down from 45.3 in July. This marked its lowest level since [...]
New borrowing slows as Bank of England’s rate hikes take effect August 30, 2023 Consumer borrowing increased at a slower rate than expected last month as the Bank of England’s interest rate hikes hit demand for new loans. Bank of England figures out this morning showed that the monthly increase in consumer credit was £1.2bn, £400m less than the £1.6bn increase seen in June. Although borrowing on credit cards [...]
Reeves: Latest interest rate hike is a ‘hammer blow’ which did not need to happen August 4, 2023 Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has labelled the latest rise in interest rates as a “hammer blow for working people” which did not need to happen. The Bank of England raised the base rate for the 14th time in a row on Thursday, taking it to 5.25% in a bid to bring inflation under control. The [...]
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 [...]