Top Tory donor says he won’t give Conservative party any more cash April 16, 2023 Top Tory donor and hotel mogul Sir Rocco Forte has said he won’t hand over any more cash to the Conservative Party. Speaking to GB News, the businessman, who founded the world famous Rocco Forte hotel chain, said the party no longer stands for anything he believes in and that he was “not a fan” [...]
UK inflation poised to slip out of the double digits for first time since last summer April 16, 2023 UK inflation is poised to slip out of the double digits for the first time since last summer in what could be the beginning of the cost of living crisis gradually releasing its grip on families over the rest of the year. Official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Wednesday are expected [...]
Federal Reserve green lights UBS-Credit Suisse deal in US April 15, 2023 The Federal Reserve's Board of Governors on Friday said it has approved UBS Group AG's acquisition of the U.S. subsidiaries of Credit Suisse, clearing another major hurdle for the completion of the Swiss-brokered rescue deal.
FTSE 100 live: London markets make small gains with retailers in focus as sterling stays strong April 14, 2023 Markets opened marginally higher on Friday with a mixed performance from retailers while the pound continued to strengthen as investors increasingly expect the Fed to start cutting rates across the pond. The FTSE 100 opened 0.20 per cent higher at 7,859.58, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health [...]
FTSE 100 close: London index squeezes out gain as UK economy unexpectedly flatlines in February April 13, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 nudged higher today after fresh figures showed the UK economy unexpectedly stalled in February, while Tesco clocked decent gains despite posting a big profit slump. The capital’s premier index edged 0.24 per cent higher to close at 7,843.39 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the [...]
Unemployment must be higher to keep a lid on inflation, Bank of England’s Huw Pill claims April 13, 2023 A greater proportion of the UK population than before the recent series of economic shocks may need to be unemployed in order to keep a lid on inflation, the Bank of England’s chief economist has claimed today. Huw Pill, who succeeded Andy Haldane as the Bank’s top wonk, was speaking at an event hosted by [...]
UK banks report more defaults – and it’s likely to get worse April 13, 2023 Banks and building societies have seen an uptick in defaults in both secured and unsecured lending – a trend that is expected to continue over the next three months, according to new data published by the Bank of England today. In the three months to February, UK lenders included in the Bank’s credit conditions [...]
UK economy stalls in February but is just about on track to dodge recession in early 2023 April 13, 2023 Britain is just about on track to dodge a recession in the first half of this year, defying gloomy predictions from experts heading into 2023 that the economy would suffer the largest slump in recent memory, figures out today show. Gross domestic product (GDP) – which measures the value of all goods and services produced [...]
Jeremy Hunt tells Washington that UK predictions are ‘much better’ than IMF doomsayers April 13, 2023 Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has said he is “confident” the UK will beat the poor growth forecasts predicted by the IMF. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said earlier this year that the UK economy will shrink by 0.3 per cent this year and grow by just one per cent in 2024. Speaking to Bloomberg in Washington [...]
Bank authorities must ‘learn lessons’ from March’s mini-crisis, top regulator warns April 12, 2023 The world’s top financial authorities need to learn the lessons from the Silicon Valley Bank’s (SVB) collapse, the chair of a major global regulatory body warned today, hinting at the need for more stringent bank rules to prevent such chaos in the future. Klaas Knot, chair of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), noted the financial [...]