FTSE 100 close: Barclays, NatWest and Lloyds all surge after Bank of England gives clean bill of health to lenders July 12, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 was yanked higher today by Britain’s biggest banks surging after being given a clean bill of health by the Bank of England this morning. The capital’s premier index notched one of its best days in weeks, surging 1.83 per cent to 7,416.10 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is [...]
Nearly one million UK homeowners to have £500 a month eaten up by higher mortgage payments July 12, 2023 UK homeowners are poised to hand over a bigger chunk of their income to their lenders every month after they roll on to a new mortgage with a much higher interest rate, the Bank of England has warned today. By the end of 2026, around 1m families will be paying an at least additional £500 [...]
Corporate debt swells to record £6tn as interest rates begin to cool borrowing appetite July 12, 2023 The debt pile sitting under global corporates has swelled to record levels in the past year despite rate hikes beginning to cool firms’ appetite for borrowing, new research has revealed.
Bank of England says UK’s big banks passed stress test and are ‘resilient’ to rising rates July 12, 2023 The UK’s largest lenders passed the Bank of England’s stress tests with flying colours, even as concerns grow around the health of the mortgage market. In its latest stress test, the Bank of England concluded that banks were “resilient”, enabling them to withstand persistently higher inflation and a deep global recession. “The UK banking system [...]
UK families set for another year of cost of living crisis and £65bn hit to finances July 12, 2023 UK families are poised to be gripped by the cost of living crisis for nearly another whole year due to the Bank of England keeping interest rates higher for longer in a bid to vanquish inflation, a new report out today claims. Household finances will be corroded by rising living costs and elevated rates until [...]
FTSE 100 close: London index nips higher as Bank of England rate hike bets step up July 11, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 crept higher today as another set of hotter than feared wage numbers pushed pound sterling to its highest level in 15 months. The capital’s premier index nipped 0.12 per cent higher to 7,282.51 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, [...]
Why record wage growth could seal another jumbo interest rate rise from Bank of England July 11, 2023 It seems strange to cheer what economists call a “loosening in the labour market”. What that basically means is: employment growth is slowing, joblessness is on the up, vacancies falling and wage growth receding. Most of those requirements were met in today’s release from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). In a shock to the [...]
Mortgage rates climb to 15-year high following surprisingly strong wage growth July 11, 2023 The typical rate available on a two-year fixed mortgage has climbed to a 15-year high, surpassing the levels seen last Autumn in the wake of the disastrous mini-budget. According to Moneyfacts, the average two-year fixed residential mortgage rate hit 6.66 per cent, marginally higher than the 6.65 per cent seen last October. This was the [...]
Stumbling economy allows insolvency specialists Begbies Traynor to cash in after acquisition spree July 11, 2023 Insolvency specialists Begbies Traynor upped its dividend after it saw its pretax profit increase by half in 2023. Pretax profit climbed to £6m from £4m the year before, ahead of market expectations, leading the firm to up its dividend by nine per cent on last year to 3.8p. On an adjusted basis, which excluded the [...]
Shock record wage growth amplifies risk of 14th straight Bank of England interest rate rise July 11, 2023 Workers’ pay is rising faster than expected and at among the quickest paces on record in a sign that the Bank of England will deliver a 14th straight interest rate rise next month, official figures out this morning reveal. Pay excluding bonuses rose 7.3 per cent over the three months to May on an annual [...]