Are wages or profits to blame for the inflation crisis? July 26, 2023 A lot of energy has been wasted on finding the source of the near two-year long global inflation surge. It has resembled a cathartic process to help families and businesses come to terms with how damaging the cost of living crisis has been. First Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey drew scorn for demanding workers [...]
Small business confidence slumps amid rising rates and stubborn inflation July 26, 2023 Confidence among small businesses slumped in the second quarter as the impact of rising rates and a stalling economy hit SMEs. The Federation of Small Business’s (FSB) Small Business Index fell to minus 14.2 points in the second quarter, down 11.4 points in the first quarter of the year. The fall in confidence reflects the [...]
How policymakers can agree a way forward for the introduction of a CBDC July 25, 2023 Richard Gendal Brown, Chief Technology Officer of R3 looks at the pathways being set out towards the introduction of a CBDC.
Taxpayer to hand over £150bn to Bank of England to cover QE losses July 25, 2023 Taxpayers will have to foot a £150bn bill to cover cumulative losses on the Bank of England’s bond buying scheme over the coming decade, a new projection has claimed today. The Treasury is forecast to inject hundreds of billions of pounds into the central bank’s balance sheet to make up for a shortfall in its [...]
London Metal Exchange names new chief executive for clearing house as court verdict looms July 25, 2023 The London Metal Exchange has made fresh changes to its senior team, announcing a new chief executive for its clearing house.
IMF warns Germany and UK will be G7’s laggards this year despite upgrades July 25, 2023 Britain is on course to register the second weakest growth in the clutch of rich countries this year, beaten only by Europe’s economic powerhouse Germany, which will be the only advanced economy to contract this year, the world’s lender of last resort has signalled today. UK output will expand 0.4 per cent this year, the [...]
HSBC set to reduce fixed-rate deals as hopes rise that mortgage rates will start to fall July 25, 2023 HSBC became the first high street bank to announce they will be reducing rates on a swathe of their fixed-rate products, sparking hope that mortgage rates might begin to fall. Mortgage rates have spiralled in recent months as inflation has remained stubbornly above the Bank of England’s target. Traders are now betting that the Bank [...]
UK recession risk just got a whole lot lower after inflation undershoot July 25, 2023 From the Bank of England to recession warnings, Jack Barnett gets under the skin of Britain’s economy in his weekly column Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey would not have been the only person in the City last week breathing a sigh of relief after the better than expected inflation numbers. It was the first [...]
FTSE 100 close: Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds retrace losses as Ocado soars July 24, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 retraced early losses today to close in the black, driven higher by online supermarket Ocado surging after it settled a dispute over its warehouse technology. The capital’s premier index climbed 0.19 per cent to 7,678.60 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the [...]
London office investment slumps to 14-year low July 24, 2023 London office investment slumped to a 14-year low in the second quarter of the year, new data shows, as high interest rates stifled momentum built up in the early months of the year. Some £1.2bn was spent on London offices last quarter, a 59 per cent drop on the £2.9bn spent in the previous quarter [...]