UK inflation to fall to lowest level since March 2022 but Bank of England still tipped to hike interest rates July 17, 2023 UK inflation is on course to drop to its lowest level in over a year, but lingering underlying price pressures will heap expectation on the Bank of England to keep on hiking interest rates, new figures out this week are tipped to show. The rate of price growth in Britain is expected to have dropped [...]
FTSE finance chiefs: Rates, inflation and growth squeeze C-suite confidence July 17, 2023 Ratcheting up interest rate expectations and intense fears about sticky inflation has hobbled FTSE finance chiefs’ optimism, a closely watched survey out today shows. Confidence among chief financial officers (CFO) of FTSE-listed companies has tumbled over the last quarter, according to consultancy Deloitte. Optimism among money managers at Britain’s largest businesses has eroded to net [...]
Fan-owned AFC Wimbledon named best-run club in English football July 17, 2023 AFC Wimbledon are the best-run club in English football, according to a new report on the future funding of the game by campaigners Fair Game. The Fair Game Index rates all 92 teams in the top four divisions in four areas: financial sustainability, governance, fan engagement and equality standards. Wimbledon achieved the highest score of [...]
Nearly half of tenants struggle to pay rent with millions now facing ‘financial vulnerability’ July 14, 2023 Nearly half of tenants are struggling to pay their rent, with millions now spending more of their disposable income on renting costs than homeowners. As the cost of living crisis has led many landlords to up the costs of rent, some 21 per cent of tenants report spending a higher proportion of their disposable income [...]
Pound surges to strongest level since April last year as traders bet on further rate hikes July 14, 2023 The pound has surged to its strongest position in over a year over the past week as traders bet the Bank of England will have to hike rates further and faster than global counterparts. Since the beginning of the month, the pound has risen from below $1.27 to trade at over $1.31. The last time [...]
FTSE 100 close: London’s premier index creeps into the green ahead of crucial inflation print on Wednesday July 14, 2023 London’s premier index closed the week slightly in the green after a quiet day ahead of next week’s crucial inflation print. The FTSE 100 slipped out marginal gains to trade at 7,440.65 while the midcap FTSE 250 index dropped 0.2 per cent to 18,594.73. All eyes will be on UK inflation data next week. Inflation [...]
Sunak accepts six per cent public sector pay rises but warns it ‘will cost all of you as taxpayers’ July 13, 2023 Government has accepted recommendations for millions of public sector workers to receive pay rises of six per cent or more, Rishi Sunak has announced. The prime minister said today reports from independent pay bodies calling for public sector pay rises of between five and 6.5 per cent for millions of medics, teachers and civil servants [...]
Jeremy Hunt on track to ‘obliterate’ fiscal rules as OBR warns of much higher debt bill July 13, 2023 Jeremy Hunt is on track to blow out his financial goals due to the Bank of England hiking interest rates aggressively to bring down sticky inflation, according to new forecasts out today from the UK’s spending watchdog. Payments to investors who have purchased UK government debt are poised to rise more than £90bn above what [...]
The Square Mile and Me: Paragon Bank CEO Nigel Terrington talks paper rounds, The Lamb and office faux pas July 13, 2023 We dig into the memory bank of the City’s great and good: this week, Nigel Terrington, chief executive of Paragon Bank, takes a stroll down memory lane. What was your first job? I was a paper boy, aged around 14, in Surrey. I had to get up ridiculously early and the biggest challenge was to [...]
Mortgage defaults expected to pick up as rising rates hits borrowers, say lenders July 13, 2023 Banks and building societies expect the level of mortgage defaults to increase over the next quarter as the impact of rising interest rates filters through the economy. In the Bank of England’s quarterly credit conditions survey, lenders reported “losses and default rates on secured loans to households increased in Q2, and were expected to increase [...]