Fastest price rises since CPI began in 1996 October 18, 2011 CONSUMER prices increased at a record rate in the year to September, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said yesterday. The consumer price index (CPI) rose to 5.2 per cent – the highest since it was introduced in 1996, and equal to the peak in September 2008. The figure was 4.5 per cent in the [...]
Inflation at three-year high of 5.2pc October 18, 2011 Inflation in Britain hit a three-year high in September driven by soaring gas and electricity bills, data showed, adding to the severe squeeze on Britons’ living standards as wages have failed to keep up with rising prices. The jump highlights the risk to the Bank of England’s recent move to revive the faltering economic recovery [...]
CHINA FACING WALL IN HUNT FOR GROWTH October 17, 2011 INVESTORS have placed considerable faith in China over the past few years. Many remain convinced that the country’s growing middle class (estimated to be around 300m people) is ready to step in and take up the slack as US and European economies slow. But while China’s economic growth is likely to continue to outstrip that [...]
China inflation edges down October 14, 2011 China’s consumer inflation dipped to 6.1 per cent in September, retreating further from three-year highs, although stubborn food price pressures will deter the central bank from loosening its policy reins anytime soon. A slowdown in price rises would be welcomed by policymakers as confirmation that a flurry of increases in interest rates and bank reserve [...]
LUNCH PRICES HIKED TO HIGHLIGHT PROBLEMS FACED BY THIRD WORLD October 12, 2011 LONDONERS may be accustomed to signing away the vast majority of their pay packet on the capital’s rising rents, but what if everyday food was as much of an outlay, accounting for 50 to 80 per cent of income every month? That’s what the Red Cross is hoping to highlight as it takes over popular [...]
Sales rise for UK’s resilient retailers October 10, 2011 BRITISH shops have unexpectedly recorded growing sales in the three months to September, defying the wider economic turmoil. Like-for-like retail sales were 0.3 per cent up last month, compared to the same time in 2010, data revealed this morning. And the three-month weighted average – designed to iron out monthly volatility – showed like-for-like sales [...]
Factory gate inflation hits three-year high October 7, 2011 The price of goods leaving UK factories rose to a three-year high of 6.3 per cent raising doubts over the Bank of England’s belief that consumer inflation will slow next year. The factory gate figure was largely driven by fuel and food inflation, according to the Office for National Statistics, but the core figure without [...]
Inflation hits a three-year high in OECD October 4, 2011 PRICES rose at their highest level since October 2008 in the twelve months to August, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) revealed yesterday. Consumer price index (CPI) inflation accelerated to 3.2 per cent over the year across the 34 member countries, up from 3.1 per cent in the year to July. Energy and [...]
Things will only get worse for Labour until they discuss voters’ inflation concerns September 29, 2011 AS LABOUR gathered in Liverpool for its party conference this week, one of their top priorities was to fashion a message on the dominant issue in British politics today: the economy. They failed. FISCAL FAILURE On the fiscal side, the shadow chancellor Ed Balls, unveiled an economic recovery package that seemed like it had been [...]
Brazilian inflation up again September 20, 2011 Consumer prices rose more than expected in Brazil in the month to mid-September. The benchmark price index rose 0.53 per cent, the national statistics agency said yesterday, led by rising food prices. That was faster than the 0.27 per cent rise in August. Analysts warned that the uptick in prices underscored the riskiness of the [...]