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 [...]
Recession concerns vie with inflation risk for investors in unpredictable market week ahead May 23, 2022 It was aother week of declines for US markets on Friday, with the S&P500 closing lower for the seventh week in succession, making a fresh 18 month low, and briefly retracing 50 per cent of the move from its 2020 lows to its record highs late last year. The Nasdaq 100 similarly pulled off new [...]
Bank of England hints further interest rates are coming soon to bring down highest inflation in four decades May 20, 2022 As the British economy is hit by high levels of inflation, the Bank of England’s chief economist said today interest rates might need to rise further in the near future. Huw Pill said the 9 per cent inflation rate – the highest in 40 years – is a “very uncomfortable situation” for decision-makers at the [...]
What a difference a day makes: Markets go into full reversal mode as recession concerns grow May 6, 2022 What a difference a day makes? Having rallied strongly in the aftermath of the Federal Reserve’s decision to hike rates by 50bps on Wednesday evening, and not go harder, US stock markets went into full reversal mode yesterday, dragging European markets down with them. Bond yields also shot back up, with the US 10 year [...]
Thanks, Bank of England: Households will pay £858m more in interest after yesterday’s rate rise May 6, 2022 With the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee confirming yesterday that its base rate will rise by 0.25 per cent to 1 per cent, UK households face an immediate increase in interest payments of around £858m. Analysis of Bank of England data shows UK households are currently paying £18.3bn annually in interest payments on floating rate [...]