Savings accounts: Banks under fire as MPs demand to know why interest rate rises have not been passed on to savers March 1, 2023 MPs have asked further questions of banks’ savings rate as pressure increases on the UK’s major high street lenders to pass on higher interest rates to consumers. In a letter to the heads of four of the UK’s largest banks, chair of the Treasury Committee Harriet Baldwin asked banks why their savings rates remain lower [...]
Cost of living crisis has forced families to take on £1.1bn debt and dig into savings, says Bank of England March 1, 2023 Families are saving far less than they did over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic and maxing on credit cards to maintain spending amid the cost of living crisis, official figures have revealed. Brits set aside £3.5bn in January in savings accounts, a slight increase from December, but below the pre-pandemic monthly average increase of [...]
More data points to UK economy avoiding recession but experts urge Hunt to prevent investment cliff edge at March budget March 1, 2023 The prospect of the UK avoiding a recession after a batch of better than expected recent data has propelled business confidence higher, a closely watched survey out today shows. Optimism among company leaders jumped 11 points to minus 17 this month, shifting it back to levels seen when the government launched Plan B measures to [...]
End of Bank of England £800bn bond buying scheme poses headaches for Treasury and taxpayers February 28, 2023 The magic money tree is shedding its leaves. Over a decade of cheap cash propping up the global economy has been toppled by a once in a generation inflation problem. QE was a necessary response to the batch of shocks ricocheting around the global economy since 2008. Now it’s shifted into reverse. But how did [...]
IFS: No room for tax cuts or spending rises at March budget despite Jeremy Hunt pocketing £60bn windfall February 28, 2023 There is no room for tax cuts or spending increases at the 15 March budget despite Jeremy Hunt being handed an around £60bn windfall from lower energy prices and interest rates, a top economic think tank has forecast today. The Chancellor will be held back from handing households and businesses a tax giveaway due to [...]
London to power UK economy away from recession and clinch best growth across the country February 27, 2023 London will power the UK economy out of recession and is poised to be the fastest growing area in the country over the coming years, new forecasts out today reveal. The capital’s economy is on track to expand 2.6 per cent each year between 2024 and 2026, pushing it to the top of the countrywide [...]
Recession fears chill UK investment as CBI urges Jeremy Hunt to rethink tax grab at March budget February 27, 2023 British businesses are poised to mothball investment due to uncertainty over whether the country is on course to tip into a recession and a looming tax grab, a new survey out today indicates. Fears of a slowdown in spending caused by families’ finances being squeezed by the cost of living crisis has knocked optimism among [...]
Week ahead: Bank of England speak to dominate agenda as investors look for clues on interest rate path February 26, 2023 Investors will be parsing over a string of speeches from top Bank of England rate setters this week for clues on whether the central bank is close to ending its aggressive campaign to tame inflation. Ben Broadbent, a deputy governor at the Bank, kicks off a busy week of central banker speech at Threadneedle Street’s [...]
UK edges further away from recession as families’ economy and inflation outlook brightens February 24, 2023 Another brighter than expected set of economic numbers out today indicate the UK has a chance of avoiding a much-tipped recession this year. Consumer confidence climbed faster than forecast to minus 38 points this month, up seven points from minus 45 points in January, according to research firm Growth for Knowledge’s index which has been [...]
Bank of England Mann warns interest rates need to keep rising to squash inflation February 23, 2023 Interest rates in the UK will have to keep rising to prevent inflation sticking around for too long, a member of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee (MPC) warned today. Catherine Mann, who joined the rate setting group in September 2021 as an external member, said at an event hosted by the Resolution Foundation [...]