How to control the cost of our over promoted civil service January 16, 2025 Civil service pay has been frozen yet the wage bill remains the same as it was 10 years ago. Time to clear out the dead wood and boost the pay of top talent, says Henry Hill It’s all so predictable. The previous government froze civil service pay to try and control costs as headcount ballooned. [...]
No Conservative should stand for Britain in decline January 16, 2025 With persistent inflation, Conservatives exhausted and a Labour government with no ideas, the ghosts of the 1970s have returned to haunt Britain. Now, just as then, a comprehensive reboot of the right is required, says Sir Simon Clarke We live in a time of ghosts. The spirits of the 1970s are stirring across the UK, [...]
Wall Street banks JP Morgan, Citi and Goldman Sachs report bumper profit January 15, 2025 Some of Wall Street’s biggest banks reported a surge in profit today on the back of a rebound in dealmaking and strengthening equity markets toward the end of last year. JPMorgan Chase, the US’s biggest lender, said profit had jumped 50 per cent to $14bn (£11.41bn) through the final quarter as its dealmakers and traders [...]
FTSE 100 rises and gilts recover but Reeves isn’t out of the woods just yet January 15, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves was dealt some welcome good news after a surprise drop in inflation that saw gilt yields fall at the fastest pace in over a year on Wednesday, but some economists fear the development represents a temporary reprieve with inflation at risk of rebounding in the coming months. New figures from the Office [...]
US inflation rises slightly but core prices weaker than expected January 15, 2025 US inflation rose at a slightly weaker pace than expected last month, but it is unlikely to be enough to prompt the Federal Reserve into cutting interest rates in the near future. The latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the headline rate picked up to 2.9 per cent in December, up [...]
Ashmore: Asset manager’s stock surges as investor withdrawals subside January 15, 2025 Ashmore stock surged five per cent in early trading this morning after the asset manager reported a sharp reduction in outflows. Investors pulled $400m (£327m) from the emerging markets specialist over the last quarter, down from $700m (£572m) in the three months before and below the $1.1bn (£900m) expected by analysts. When excluding a liquidity [...]
Inflation: ‘Relief’ for Reeves or a ‘temporary reprieve’? January 15, 2025 Inflation unexpectedly fell in December, but is it 'relief' for Rachel Reeves or just a 'temporary reprieve'?
UK gilt auction fails to roll back yield spike January 15, 2025 A closely watched sale of UK government debt failed to roll back the alarming rise in yields after the £4bn auction did not drum up significant interest for gilts. The Debt Management Office (DMO) reported that the 2034 gilts were sold at a yield of 4.808 per cent, compared with 4.332 per cent in the last [...]
Pub giants allay fears of hospitality crisis despite higher wage bills January 15, 2025 Pub giants Mitchells & Butlers and Fuller, Smith & Turner have both expressed confidence as the firms adapt to higher wage bills, in a positive sign for an industry which warned of crisis last year. Mitchells, the owner of Harvester, Toby Carvery and All Bar One, reported like-for-like growth of 10.4 per cent over the [...]
Vistry: Housebuilder avoids fourth profit downgrade but warns of market uncertainty January 15, 2025 Vistry has warned of uncertain market conditions as it reaffirmed previously downgraded profit guidance for the year ahead. The UK’s largest housebuilder by output said the outcome of the government’s spending review and a “recovery in consumer confidence” would prove pivotal in determining performance in 2025. Group adjusted pre-tax profit is forecast to be around [...]