Week ahead: UK economy to narrowly avoid recession but GDP still expected to shrink February 5, 2023 The UK economy narrowly avoided a recession at the end of last year, new official figures out this week are expected to reveal. City traders think new GDP numbers from the Office for National Statistics on Friday will show the economy contracted 0.3 per cent in December, meaning the UK will have just about skirted [...]
Liz Truss breaks silence to blame media and ‘leftward’ shift for £45bn mini budget failure February 5, 2023 Liz Truss has broken her silence for the first time since being booted out from Number 10 to hit back at critics of her tax cutting, pro-growth economic agenda. Writing in the Sunday Telegraph today, Truss, 47, said she was never given a “realistic chance” to implement sweeping tax cuts designed to unshackle businesses and [...]
Something for the weekend: This week’s five most-read stories on Cityam.com February 3, 2023 A Reddit user called fatmummy, interest rates, vaccines, the ECB and an ignominiouss end to government-funded Tech Nation – here’s what City A.M. readers most wanted to click on this week. One: How a saucepan broke the internet. If lockdown had you baking and prepping then this story would have piqued your interest. Houseproud, or [...]
Interest rate rise and what it means for you February 3, 2023 The Bank of England has raised interest rates to four per cent, in a widely-expected move that has implications for both borrowers and savers. Adjusting personal finances to this ‘new normal’ of higher interest rates will be a challenge for most households, admitted Paul Wilson, chief Investment officer at Channel Capital. He said although a [...]
Once again the world’s economies prove that Bitcoin can be the answer to their problems February 3, 2023 Jason Deane has some telling observations from around the world and says the struggle with inflation has an obvious answer in Bitcoin.
‘Important we enguard against doing too much’ with rate rises, Bank of England’s top economist Pill warns February 3, 2023 The chief economist of the Bank of England has cautioned that it is important the Bank does not raise borrowing costs too high. Huw Pill’s warning came a day after the central bank hiked interest rates by 0.5 percentage points to 4% but indicated it could slow down recent rate-hiking activity. He told Times Radio [...]
NatWest boss U-turns on snub of Westminster committee after plea to ensure it won’t be an all-male panel February 3, 2023 The boss of NatWest has U-turned on her decision not to appear in front of MPs next week as they scrutinise the UK’s biggest banks on why savings rates are so low while borrowing costs have spiked. Dame Alison Rose, NatWest’s chief executive, came under pressure from the Treasury Committee after saying she was too [...]
FTSE 100 close: Markets shrug off rate hike as JD Sports and BT lift index February 2, 2023 The FTSE 100 closed higher on Thursday, boosted by a strong performance from BT and JD Sports, as investors digested the latest interest rate decision from the Bank of England later today. Governor Andrew Bailey increased interest rates by 50bps to a post-financial crisis high of four per cent earlier today. Investors think the Bank [...]
European Central Bank kicks rates 50 points higher and signals more such hikes to come February 2, 2023 The European Central Bank (ECB) today hiked interest rates 50 basis points and signalled further such increases are coming this year. The monetary authority of the 19 countries using the euro kicked rates higher to tame inflation, which last year hit the highest level since the creation of the common currency back in 1999. Borrowing [...]
Another interest rate hike to boost banks’ profits, but how long will the windfall last? February 2, 2023 Bank shares prices were mixed after the Bank of England raised interest rates by 50 basis points earlier today, as the pressure on banks to pass on higher interest rates to savers grew. The more domestically focused Lloyds and Natwest were trading 1.0 per cent and 0.6 per cent higher respectively. Barclays was up 0.8 [...]