Inflation crunch to intensify as wave of firms hike prices to survive cost assault February 10, 2022 A cost assault is forcing businesses to hike prices to protect margins in a sign the UK cost of living crisis is set to get worse before it gets better, reveals a new study published today. Around three in four firms are raising prices to weather soaring energy and staffing costs in what is being [...]
Persistent labour crunch intensifies pay pressures in sign of sticky inflation February 10, 2022 A shallower pool of available workers and growing calls among staff for employers to lift pay to offset the cost of living crunch is stoking wage tension in the jobs market, reveals fresh figures released today. Intensifying pay pressures in the jobs markets adds to the growing body of evidence indicating historically high inflation could [...]
Surging rents ‘fanning the flames of cost of living crisis’ February 9, 2022 Rents have surged 8.3 per cent in a year, to the highest level they have been in 13 years. London rents have risen 11 per cent in a year as office workers have returned to the capital. Monthly rents are up £62 since the start of the pandemic, hitting an average of £969 a month, [...]
More economists warn of cost of living crunch’s drag on UK growth February 8, 2022 The squeeze on households’ living standards from the cost of living crunch will drag on the UK economy this year, reveals fresh forecasts published today. A triple whammy of Inflation topping seven per cent, a heavier tax burden and swelling energy bills is set to erode consumers’ real incomes, prompting a pull back in spending, [...]
Plan B curbs to put downer on otherwise historic year for UK economy February 8, 2022 The re-emergence of Covid-19 restrictions put a downer on an otherwise historic year for the UK economy, reveal new forecasts released today. The imposition of Plan B measures throughout December in a bid to tame the rapid spread of the Omicron variant caused the British economy to contract in the final month of 2021, according [...]
BP rebounds with 30-fold increase in profit amid surging oil prices February 8, 2022 Oil and gas giant BP has rebounded with fourth-quarter profits of $2.3bn and a replacement cost profit of $4.1bn.
Bank of England has undercooked inflation forecasts again, City economists warn February 7, 2022 The Bank of England has undercooked its forecasts for inflation again in a sign the cost of living squeeze will get worse before it gets better, reveals new estimates from City economists. Inflation will peak at 7.5 per cent in April, higher than the Bank’s expected peak of 7.25 per cent in its latest forecasts, [...]
Rishi Sunak’s cost-of-living hand out is a classic example of short-term, overburdened Treasury brain February 7, 2022 Last week, as the cake crumbs were cleared away and the fizz went out of the champagne, there was a serious announcement from the chancellor, Rishi Sunak. There had been an energy crisis looming, prices set to soar, and the government knew that this would feed into a damaging narrative that the cost of living [...]
Live to fight another day: Crucial week for Boris Johnson with new team on a mission to kill off backbenchers’ final concerns February 7, 2022 Boris Johnson is heading into a new week hoping changes to his top Downing Street team will ease the concerns of backbenchers who were wavering about his future. The Prime Minister made key changes over the weekend, appointing Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Steve Barclay as his new chief of staff and journalist and [...]
More than 1,000 London buildings require emergency fire measures including waking watches February 6, 2022 More than 1,000 buildings in London necessitate emergency measures, including security patrols, because of fire safety defects, five years on from the Grenfell Tower disaster. A total of 1,149 buildings in the capital need measures including ‘waking watches’, according to the latest data from the London Fire Brigade, which was first reported by the Evening [...]