Brits’ optimism tumbles to new depths, below financial crisis and Covid-19 lockdowns May 20, 2022 Rampant inflation, tax hikes, swelling food and energy bills and the Russia-Ukraine war has sent Brits’ optimism to its lowest level ever, reveals a closely watched survey published today. UK households are now even more pessimistic than they were when the world was in the teeth of the global financial crisis in 2008 and during [...]
The City View: Inflation hits 9%, and why companies should put consumers first May 18, 2022 Today Andy Silvester talks to Professor Seán Meehan from the IMD School of Management. They discuss the importance of customer centricity, and go through how companies can integrate consumer-first practices. Listen to his IMD Management podcast here. Andy also talks to City A.M.’s Andy also talks to City A.M.’s Economics and Markets reporter Jack Barnett. [...]
British factories’ costs climb at record pace in sign of even higher consumer prices to come May 18, 2022 Prices for materials used by British factories are rising at the quickest pace on record in a sign firms may be pushed to keep passing on costs to consumers, official figures published today revealed. The cost of buying components such as fuels used for the day to day running of manufacturing firms jumped 18.6 per [...]
Bank of England to launch brisk rate hike cycle to tame 40-year high inflation May 18, 2022 The Bank of England will have to launch a cycle of steeper and quicker rate hikes to tame the steepest rise in living costs in four decades, according to City economists. The case for front-loading rate rises is strengthening after new figures published this morning by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed inflation climbed [...]
Andrew Bailey is putting the Bank’s independence at risk if he wavers on inflation May 18, 2022 Andrew Bailey’s ability to steer monetary policy through the inflation crisis will determine the Bank’s future strength
Investors look through inflation headwinds to focus on strong earnings May 17, 2022 Investors dismissed concerns over inflationary pressures firming in the UK economy and focused on a string of positive company earnings, lifting London’s indexes today. The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index climbed 0.72 per cent to 7,518.35 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, [...]
Pubs and restaurants battle to keep prices competitive amid ‘intense pressure’ on margins May 17, 2022 The hospitality sector has warned of “intense pressure” on margins while shoppers have been told food prices could surge as much as 10 per cent. Marks & Spencer chairman Archie Norman cautioned that shoppers could see an even pricey weekly shop amid historic levels of inflation. Speaking to the BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on [...]
The City View: Michael Hewson on problematic consumer spending growth May 17, 2022 Today Andy Silvester talks to Michael Hewson, Chief Market Analyst at CMC Markets. They unpick the latest wage and labour figures, analyse Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey’s comments at the Treasury select committee, go through inflation predictions for 2022, and discuss why current consumer spending growth in the US and UK will be problematic [...]
Bets on US recession ‘badly misplaced’ after strong retail sales May 17, 2022 Bets on the US economy tipping into a recession “look badly misplaced” as consumer spending shows little sign of cooling amid historically high inflation That’s according to Wall Street analysts’ assessment of new retail sales data published today illustrating the US consumer is shaking off soaring living costs. Retail sales jumped 0.9 per cent over [...]
Wages trail inflation as Brits brace for cost of living crunch to enter most damaging spell May 17, 2022 Brits’ spending power is being crimped at a historic rate, but is set to plunge even quicker as the cost of living crunch enters its most damaging period, reveals official figures published today. Regular pay adjusted for inflation dropped at the fastest pace in nearly a decade over the last quarter to March, falling 1.2 [...]