Recession is certain – City July 28, 2008 Analysts have declared a UK recession inevitable following official data showing that economic growth in the second quarter of this year slumped to its weakest rate in three years. The Office for National Statistics revealed last week that GDP rose by just 0.2 per cent in the three months to June, bringing the annual rate [...]
London bucks retailer gloom July 21, 2008 Central London retailers are defying the economic gloom, according to figures from the British Retail Consortium. Retail sales in June were 8.7 per cent higher than a year ago, although the rate of growth is weaker than in 2007 when an increase of 11 per cent was reported. Footfall was also higher than in June [...]
Rising food costs getting you down? Try a spread bet July 21, 2008 A spread bet on commodities offers you an excellent opportunity to get even, according to Katie Hope You would have had to have spent the past year in a cave not to be interested in commodities. For car drivers, the price of petrol is an ever-growing concern, while rising food prices have caused riots in [...]
Council wage strike tests Brown’s steel July 17, 2008 Hundreds of thousands of local government workers went on strike yesterday in a dispute over pay that paralysed services from education to rubbish collection. The pay dispute is a test of the government’s nerve at a time when it is languishing far behind the Conservatives in the polls and trying to fight soaring inflation by [...]
Inflation could hit 6 per cent on fuel bill price hike July 16, 2008 Inflation could reach 6 per cent by the end of the year if an anticipated 30 per cent hike in energy bills hits consumers later this year, according to BNP Paribas economist Alan Clarke. His prediction comes after the official consumer price index inflation rate jumped to a record 3.8 per cent in the year [...]
Inflation surge bites July 15, 2008 Bank of England rate setters face another tough decision as fresh evidence emerges that soaring inflation and sluggish high street sales continues to put pressure on consumer’s pockets and the wider economy. Prices charged by manufacturers at the factory fate rose by 10 per cent in June – the highest rate since comparable records began, [...]
Housing recession creeping closer as Barratt cuts jobs July 11, 2008 Leading economists predicted yesterday that house prices will fall by 35 per cent by the end of next year, as lender Halifax reported a 2 per cent slump in values last month. Britain’s biggest mortgage lender said that house prices are already 6.1 per cent lower than last June, fuelling fears Britain is heading for [...]
FTSE 100 flirts with bear market July 9, 2008 London’s leading blue chip share index lurched into official bear market territory yesterday before recovering to end the day lower, but temporarily out of the danger zone. The FTSE 100 index fell below 5,385 points in early trading, 20 per cent below its June 2007 peak of 6,732, putting it in official bear territory, defined [...]
Brown: stop wasting food July 8, 2008 Britons can help bring food prices down by cutting the amount they waste every year, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said yesterday. Brown was speaking as he was travelling to the G8 summit in Japan where the rich nations’ club is meeting to discuss rising fuel and food prices as well as global warming. A government [...]