Create investment boosting tax system to end economic malaise, CBI chief urges Tory leadership hopefuls July 13, 2022 Creating a tax system that boosts business investment to lift the UK out of its growth malaise is the only way to solve the country’s economic stagnation. That’s according to the chief of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the country’s largest business group. In an open letter to Conservative leadership candidates published today, Tony [...]
Cautious consumers send chill through UK services economy July 5, 2022 Consumers are rolling back spending at pubs, bars and restaurants in response to rampant inflation whacking their budgets, reveals a closely watched survey published today. New business growth in Britain’s services industry, its economic engine, slowed to its worst level in 16 months in June, according to S&P Global’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI). The cool [...]
Interest rate hikes could trigger chain of bankruptcies in shadow banks June 27, 2022 Interest rate hikes from central banks across the globe could trigger a chain of bankruptcies in the global “shadow banking” industry, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has warned. In an interview with The Times, Claudio Borio, head of the BIS’ monetary and economic department, said “shadow banks” – including hedge funds, pension funds, and [...]
World is staring down the barrel of new high inflation era, BIS warns June 26, 2022 The world risks being flung into a new era of persistently high inflation that will tip the global economy into a drawn out recession, one of the world’s top economic institutions has warned. Rampant price rises triggered by a series of economic shocks that have no “historical parallels” could become the norm, the Bank for [...]
Banking battle for customers heats up as Nationwide introduces 5 per cent interest rate on current accounts June 23, 2022 The battle for customers is increasingly heating up in the UK banking scene with one major current account provider now offering 5 per cent interest on balances up to £1,500 for the first 12 months . Nationwide Building Society previously offered 2 per cent fixed for 12 months on balances up to £1,500 on its [...]
30 per cent spike in insolvent companies as firms hit by rising costs and falling consumer spending June 20, 2022 The quadrupling of interest rates since December has tipped thousands of companies into insolvency, with a 30 per cent spike in the last three months. Almost 6,000 firms have gone down according to Mazars, the audit and tax specialists, up from 4,578 inn the previous three months. This comes after the Bank of England raised [...]
Recession concerns growing rapidly as central banks struggle to put inflation genie back in its bottle June 20, 2022 Despite attempts at a modest rebound on Friday, European markets still finished lower for the second week in succession, posting their lowest weekly closes since March. US markets also finished the week similarly mixed, but also sharply lower, with the S&P500 posting its worst week since March 2020, ahead of the Juneteenth long weekend. “As [...]
Happening down under this a.m.: Australian central bank hikes interest rate for second time in five weeks June 7, 2022 Australia’s central bank this afternoon local time lifted its benchmark interest rate for a second time in five weeks, changing the cash rate to 0.85 per cent from 0.35 per cent. When the Reserve Bank of Australia raised the rate by a quarter of a percentage point at its last monthly board meeting on May [...]
Ex rate-setter urges BoE to raise interest by 3 per cent to stop inflation June 2, 2022 The Bank of England (BoE) needs to raise its interest rates by 3 per cent if it wants to stop inflation, according to former UK rate-setter Andrew Sentance. Previously an external member of the BoE’s monetary policy committee, Sentance argued that interest rates need to be increased fast to contain inflationary pressures, which last month [...]
Jubilee 2022: what’s changed for savers since 1952? June 1, 2022 | City Talk It’s 70 years since Queen Elizabeth II took the throne. How have some of our key financial metrics – from longevity to inflation, interest rates to investment returns – moved over the decades? The seven-decade reign of Queen Elizabeth II has seen transformations in many aspects of our lives. That includes sweeping changes to the [...]