UK inflation will drop back to Bank of England two per cent target by end of this year, economists predict February 22, 2023 Inflation in the UK is on track to fall exactly back to the Bank of England’s target by the end of this year, according to forecasts by two top City of London economists. The rate of price increases will tumble to two per cent in the final three months of 2023, according to Pantheon Macroeconomics. [...]
Our post-Brexit relationship cannot be left in the hands of ideologues February 22, 2023 Cast your mind back to Christmas 2020. As most of us settled into the sofa for a Christmas behind-closed-doors, shuttle diplomacy saw the UK finally secure a Brexit deal with the EU on the country’s future relationship with the trading bloc. Boris Johnson hailed it as “glad tidings of great joy.” To all the world [...]
Why teenage figure skater Kamila Valieva could now be facing a four-year ban February 22, 2023 Teenage figure skater Kamila Valieva could face a four-year ban after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) asked the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to reconsider her case. A 15-year-old Valieva helped Russia to win team gold at the Winter Olympics in Beijing a year ago, but the medals have still not been awarded as [...]
End of cash… and cards? Barclays says record 91 per cent of transactions were contactless last year February 17, 2023 Just over nine in 10 (91.2 per cent ) card transactions made last year where paying by contactless would have been an option did use this technology, according to data from Barclays. The bank said this is the highest proportion it has seen, with 85.6 per cent of eligible card transactions being contactless in 2021. [...]
Royal Mail workers vote to continue walkouts February 16, 2023 Royal Mail workers have voted overwhelmingly to continue with a campaign of industrial action in a bitter dispute over pay, jobs and conditions. A fresh ballot of members of the Communication Workers Union showed almost 96% were in favour of more strikes unless the deadlock is broken. CWU general secretary Dave Ward said it was [...]
SSP: Upper Crust owner’s UK recovery hampered by rail strikes as commuters stop buying baguettes February 16, 2023 Upper Crust owner SSP has seen the recovery in its UK arm hampered by repeated waves of strike action across railway networks. The company, which runs food outlets at transport sites such as airports and railway stations, revealed the performance of its UK and Ireland business lagged behind other regions globally due to train strike [...]
UK inflation drops for third straight month in sign Bank of England is nearing end of interest rate hikes February 15, 2023 Inflation in the UK is falling faster than experts expected which may convince the Bank of England to consider ending its aggressive campaign to tame prices with interest rate rises, official figures out today reveal. The rate of price increases in Britain dropped to 10.1 per cent last month, down from 10.5 per cent in [...]
Rail and postal strikes ‘decimated’ festive trade with worst impact for a decade February 14, 2023 London’s festive economy was “decimated” by rail and postal strikes, as new figures revealed the disruption caused by walkouts was the worst month on record since 2011. Around 843,000 working days were lost to strike action in December – the highest for more than a decade – according to official figures from the Office for [...]
A Lucky day for Eight ex-Specso with Teetan up February 14, 2023 KARIS Teetan-ridden LUCKY EIGHT finally gets a golden chance to shine, when the four-year-old lines up in the Tsing Yi Handicap (2.15pm) over six furlongs at Happy Valley on Wednesday. The ‘Mauritian Magician’, Teetan, has a full-book of rides on the nine-race programme, but will surely be relishing the opportunity to resume an unbeaten winning [...]
The economics of envy: ditch the roses for Valentine’s and bake a cake instead February 14, 2023 This Valentine's Day, instead of going for a teddy bear or roses, gift your loved one a shared experience - as economics teach us that's what they'll really appreciate, writes Phoebe Arslanagic Wakefield