Another interest rate hike to boost banks’ profits, but how long will the windfall last? February 2, 2023 Bank shares prices were mixed after the Bank of England raised interest rates by 50 basis points earlier today, as the pressure on banks to pass on higher interest rates to savers grew. The more domestically focused Lloyds and Natwest were trading 1.0 per cent and 0.6 per cent higher respectively. Barclays was up 0.8 [...]
Forget the IMF, the Bank of England are the real doomsters in this UK recession merry-go-round February 2, 2023 This week the International Monetary Fund (IMF) became public enemy number one for saying the UK will be the only rich economy to suffer a contraction in 2023. Even Russia, hobbled by sanctions to punish it for its invasion of Ukraine, is poised to squeeze out more growth than Britain this year, the lender of [...]
Federal Reserve hikes rates 25 basis points in sign Powell is nearing end of inflation fight February 1, 2023 The US Federal Reserve has climbed down to the lowest interest rate hike in nearly a year in a sign the world’s most influential central bank is nearing the end of its aggressive campaign to tame a historic inflation surge. Fed chair Jerome Powell and the rest of the federal open market committee (FOMC) backed [...]
Could the UK economy outperform the IMF’s dire recession warning? It’ll take a lot of luck February 1, 2023 Britain and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have a pretty chequered past. Yesterday’s bleak forecasts marked another chapter in the pair’s hate-hate relationship. Yes, the usual barbs that come from ministers of the incumbent government of the day after the lender of last resort’s forecast don’t help. We saw all that yesterday. But, older people [...]
A tumble in mortgage approvals could be followed by a fall in house prices, analysts believe January 31, 2023 Mortgage approvals have plummeted to their lowest since the credit crunch after the global financial crisis in 2008, excluding the pandemic when the housing market was shut down, in a sign house prices could fall sharply soon, according to official data. The number of loans to Brits to fund a home purchase dropped more than [...]
Euro economy pulls ahead of UK reinforcing IMF dire recession warning January 31, 2023 The UK is trailing its European economic peers, fresh figures out today reveal, reinforcing the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) warning that it will be the only rich country to contract this year. The eurozone economy – made up of the 19 countries that use the common currency – unexpectedly grew 0.1 per cent in the [...]
When will the Bank of England, Federal Reserve and ECB start cutting interest rates? Sooner than you think January 31, 2023 Central banks around the world this year are going to take their lead from an unlikely source: the Bank of Canada. While being the central bank of a G7 country, it’s not exactly the biggest of players in the global monetary policy and financial network. Tiff Macklem, the BoC’s chief, has led one of the [...]
UK only G7 economy to shrink this year as IMF deals blow to Jeremy Hunt recession declinism criticism January 31, 2023 Britain will emerge as the “sick man” of the world’s richest countries this year, snatching the unwanted title of being the only G7 economy to contract in 2023, according to forecasts by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The world’s economic watchdog has slashed its expectations for UK GDP again, now pencilling in a 0.6 per [...]
FTSE 100 close: London index kicks off new week softly ahead of expected Bank of England rate hike January 30, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 kicked off a new week in soft style today, with gains held lower by investors sweating over a string of big central banks raising interest rates this week. The capital’s premier index jumped 0.25 per cent to 7,784.88 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the [...]
London businesses increasingly confident they can power UK economy out of recession January 30, 2023 London businesses are increasingly confident they can power the UK out of any recession it gets itself into, a closely watched survey published today reveals. Optimism among the capital’s firms rose at the fastest pace out of any region in the UK this month, jumping 29 points to 37 per cent, according to research by [...]