Bank of England risks steering UK into needless recession with more interest rate hikes June 20, 2023 Back in November, the Bank of England took the highly unusual step of explicitly telling financial markets to calm their sky high bets on where interest rates might end up. “Should the economy evolve broadly in line with the latest monetary policy report projections, further increases in bank rate may be required for a sustainable [...]
FTSE 100 close: London index slips ahead of Bank of England interest rate decision as Next jumps June 19, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 slipped today ahead of a huge week for the UK economy, pushed lower by a resurgent pound knocking sentiment toward Britain’s biggest companies. The capital’s premier index fell 0.71 per cent to 7,588.49 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, [...]
Bank of England launches first ‘system-wide’ stress test to shed light on shadow banks June 19, 2023 The Bank of England launched its first system-wide stress test today of the financial sector as it attempts to shed light on the shadow banking sector. Through the tests, the Bank of England hopes to better understand how, during a period of market stress, the behaviour of shadow banks could amplify financial shocks. Shadow banks [...]
Rishi Sunak rules out help for homeowners as mortgage rates top six per cent June 19, 2023 Prime Minister Rishi Sunak today ruled out helping struggling mortgage holders despite rates breaching the six per cent mark for the first time since December. Amid surging mortgage rates, the Prime Minister said the government needed to “stick to the plan” to halve inflation rather than offer support to mortgage holders. Speaking on ITV’s Good [...]
Bank of England to raise interest rates for 13th time in a row this week to tame persistent inflation June 19, 2023 The Bank of England is nailed on to raise interest rates for the thirteenth meeting in a row this Thursday, but markets think there’s an outside chance Governor Andrew Bailey and co will revert to an outsized rise to tame what is emerging as the worst inflation problem in the rich world. Markets reckon the [...]
Pubs closing at fastest pace in a decade as high interest rates and energy bills crush Britain’s boozers June 19, 2023 Pubs are closing at the quickest pace in a decade and experts have warned a further wave of failures are on the way, new research out today shows. Some 620 of Britain’s watering holes disappeared over the year to the end of March, a 68 per cent increase from the 369 failures in the same [...]
House prices drop for first time this year as Bank of England interest rate hikes take hold June 19, 2023 House prices have dropped for the first time this year, sparked by the property market being whacked by the Bank of England’s 12 successive interest rate hikes to quash inflation, new figures out today show. The average price of a home coming to market fell £82 over the last month to £372,812, the first drop [...]
UK inflation tipped to trim to lowest level in over a year as food prices begin to ease June 19, 2023 UK inflation is poised to recede to its lowest level in over a year, pushed lower by food and energy price rises easing, markets are betting. Fresh cost of living figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Wednesday will top investors’ minds in a busy week of data that will shape movements in [...]
Berkeley Group looking to ease housing market fears ahead of further interest rate pain June 18, 2023 Housebuilder Berkeley is looking to soothe fears of more interest rate pain and a slump in the housing market this week as it updates the City on its full year’s performance.
Mortgage chaos set to hit banks’ bottom line as demand dries up June 18, 2023 Chaos in the mortgage market is likely to lead to big changes in lending as banks seek to find ways to capitalise on rising interest rates, analysts suggest. Over the last few weeks, the mortgage market has been in turmoil after stubbornly high inflation raised the prospect of further rate hikes. “Mounting base interest rates, [...]