CBDCs – the future of banking or an Orwellian Nightmare? January 6, 2023 Susie Violet Ward presents the case against central bank digital currencies, arguing they're a one-way ticket to trouble.
The Meal Deal Inflation Index: Tesco, Greggs, Boots and more January 5, 2023 Times are hard – with a cost of living crisis, inflation, and seemingly constant grey skies. Add strikes to the mix and it’s almost too much to get out of bed. But there is worse than even that – the hardy meal deal, the friend of the cost-conscious Londoners, is no longer quite the value [...]
Without proper financial education, this year will be a baptism of fire for Gen Z January 5, 2023 Whilst a recession has an impact on every generation, in 2023 it’s Gen Z who are going to find the transition into a sharp economic downturn the hardest. With no savings, and finding themselves just entering the world of work, this prolonged period of economic uncertainty coincides with the first time many of them will [...]
Sainsbury’s boosts pay as part of £205m inflation package January 4, 2023 Sainsbury’s is investing £185m in pay bumps for staff as the supermarket looks to retain staff during a period of high inflation and rising cost of living. Pay will increase to £11 per hour for retail staff, with London workers paid £11.95. It represents a 10 per cent pay hike over the past year when [...]
Mortgage approvals collapse to early Covid-19 crisis levels after mini-budget chaos January 4, 2023 Mortgage approvals in the UK have skidded to their lowest level since the early days of the Covid-19 crisis, pushed down by prospective buyers retreating after Liz Truss’s botched mini-budget sent interest rates flying, official figures out today show. The number of mortgage approvals tumbled a fifth over the month to November to their lowest [...]
Food prices continue to skyrocket despite easing UK shop inflation January 4, 2023 UK inflation is beginning to ease, but food prices are still accelerating at one of the fastest paces on record, new research out today shows. Annual shop price inflation, calculated by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and NielsenIQ, dropped slightly to 7.3 per cent last month from 7.4 per cent in November. Despite the drop, [...]
Bowl food buffet: Poke House looks to raise almost £50m for expansion January 3, 2023 The boss of restaurant chain Poke House said it is planning to launch a funding round worth up to 50 million euros (£44 million) as the business continues to eye up opportunities to grow. Matteo Pichi, the group’s chief executive and co-founder, told the PA news agency he wants the chain to remain a global [...]
Year Ahead: Squeeze on household incomes to intensify as tough recession will dominate 2023 January 3, 2023 2023 is expected to be an exceptionally tough year for the UK economy. The country is almost certainly already in a year-long recession, one that will probably prove to be deeper than that experienced in the early 1990s. The squeeze on household real incomes will intensify as rising interest rates join soaring inflation. Admittedly, the [...]
Inflation surge reshapes Brits’ spending, but so does end of Covid-19 curbs December 30, 2022 Inflation reaching a 41-year high. Interest rates back to 2008 levels. Mortgage costs up substantially. It’s been a tough year for the Great British consumer. Income growth has failed to keep pace with what was a 11.1 per cent cost of living peak, meaning households have been forced to cut back to protect their finances. [...]
House price growth falls for fourth consecutive month, worst run since 2008 December 30, 2022 House prices have plummeted for the fourth consecutive month by 2.8 per cent in December, the worst run since the financial crisis of 2008. Nationwide’s latest House Price Index shows this month proved to be another sharp slow down in growth down from 4.4 per cent in November. House prices fell by 0.1 per cent [...]