Morning in the City: Live updates as inflation drops, results from Aviva and M&S May 24, 2023 Welcome to City A.M.’s live blog on Wednesday 24 May as the latest inflation figures are released, and there are results from Aviva and M&S. What you need to know this morning:
Winklevoss twins warn UK not to ‘politicise’ crypto rules amid US regulators’ ‘warpath’ May 24, 2023 The Winklevoss twins have warned ministers not to “politicise” the UK’s crypto regime today as they launch a charm offensive in London amid a “warpath” from regulators in the US.
Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey and chief wonk Huw Pill admit they botched inflation forecasts May 23, 2023 Top officials at the Bank of England today admitted they have undershot the strength of inflation, with governor Andrew Bailey confessing the central bank has some “very big” lessons to learn over how it sets interest rates. MPs on the influential treasury select committee slammed members of the monetary policy committee (MPC) for failing to [...]
Swelling debt interest bill fashions second highest April government borrowing on record at £25.6bn May 23, 2023 A near £10bn debt interest bill helped to push UK borrowing to the second highest monthly total for April since records began in 1993, official figures out today reveal. The government took on an additional £25.6bn of debt last month, above market expectations and up from £13.7bn in the same month last year, according to [...]
IMF ditches UK recession call and lifts GDP growth from bottom of G7 May 23, 2023 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) today joined the Office for Budget Responsibility and Bank of England in admitting they were wrong to forecast the UK will suffer a tough recession this year. The globe’s lender of last resort in fresh forecasts hiked its gross domestic product expectations in 2023 to 0.4 per cent. It previously [...]
Britain still on track to dodge a recession this year but inflation returns May 23, 2023 Britain is still on track to avoid a recession in 2023 driven by consumer spending holding up amid a tough cost of living crisis, a closely watched survey out today shows. S&P Global and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply’s composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for May hit 53.9 points. While the number was [...]
Yes, inflation will fall – but back to Bank of England target? Well, that’s anyone’s guess May 23, 2023 Inflation is definitely on its way down, but no thanks to the Bank of England – well, yet. Most of the drop will be driven by energy price rises falling out of the ONS’s numbers. Tomorrow’s figures are poised to start that descent, with the rate of inflation probably falling to around eight per cent [...]
Amount of time it takes to hire workers drops to seven year low of just over a month May 23, 2023 The amount of time it is taking businesses to hire staff has slimmed to its lowest level in seven years in a sign friction in the jobs market is beginning to unwind, new research out today shows. Employers left roles advertised on job boards on average for 37 days over the last year, down from [...]
Central banks and governments pressured lenders to rig Libor rate, new book claims May 22, 2023 A new book alleges that banks were pressured by central banks and governments to manipulate the London Interbank Offered Rate, or Libor, in an attempt to boost confidence in the financial sector. The book, which is being serialised in The Times, claims that regulators and prosecutors knew about this pressure, but covered it up when [...]
The Notebook: Symphony CEO Brad Levy on getting clear on Whatsapp, Revolut’s regulatory woes and using AI May 22, 2023 The Notebook is a daily column where interesting people say interesting things. Today, CEO of Symphony Brad Levy writes ahead of Symphony Innovate conference on 23 May. Message received: Time for UK banks to get clear on Whatsapp In the last year, multiple banks in the US have paid a high price for staff use [...]