UK pay deals cool for first time in 2023, easing pressure on BoE August 23, 2023 Pay deals awarded by British employers cooled for the first time this year in the quarter to July, which may calm the worries of Bank of England officials who fear wage growth is feeding inflation, a survey showed on Wednesday. Median basic pay deals in the three months to the end of July fell to [...]
Homes more affordable but borrowers stretched by rising mortgage costs August 23, 2023 The cost of a typical house is 6.7 times average earnings in Britain despite the recent slowdown in the property market, according to new figures. Mortgage lender Halifax said this is down from a record high of 7.3 times average earnings last summer, when a UK home cost an average £293,586 and the average annual [...]
Trade bodies warn Bank of England economic data ignores small business fears August 22, 2023 The proportion of businesses that will struggle to pay back debts due to rising interest rates could increase to the highest level since the financial crisis, the Bank of England has warned. In a blog post published today, the central bank said the proportion of firms that are seeing debt-servicing distress is projected to increase [...]
Recession warning flashes after ‘gloomy’ UK manufacturing data August 22, 2023 Recession concerns intensified today after new data showed manufacturing output fell at its fastest pace since September 2020 in July. According to the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) industrial trends survey, the balance of factories reporting a rise in output versus a fall slumped to -19 per cent, compared to plus three per cent in [...]
Edinburgh Fringe’s best jokes of 2023 have been revealed August 22, 2023 There are thousands of performers at the Edinburgh Fringe all trying out new material with the aim of making you laugh. But only one joke could with the best joke of the Edinburgh Fringe, as voted for by comedy TV channel, Dave. And it was a gag by the comedian Lorna Rose Treen who has [...]
Cost of living crisis: 63 per cent of Brits now shop at discount grocery stores August 22, 2023 More than half of shoppers now shop at discount grocery stores as Brits continue to seek out bargains amid the cost of living crisis. According to new data released by NIQ, in the last four weeks some 63 per cent of the public shopped at value chains such as Aldi, B&M and Poundland, with over [...]
Policy must catch up with investment demand, says Wood Group boss August 22, 2023 Wood Group has raised its trading expectations in its half-year update to investors, predicting higher pre-tax profits.
BHP boss bullish over demand in China as Aussie miner’s profits tumble August 22, 2023 Miner BHP has cut forecasted growth in China and reported profits down by 37 per cent last year, but CEO Mike Henry remained optimistic this morning
Government borrowing: Another new debt record as interest hits July high making pre-election tax cuts unlikely August 22, 2023 The interest paid on government debt hit its highest July level on record as government borrowing continued to rise, albeit significantly less than expected.
Fyre Festival founder reveals festival’s return and sells tickets despite no location or event date August 22, 2023 Uh oh, Fyre Festival is returning at the end of 2024. But it’s somewhat of an overstatement to say the festival is ‘returning,’ given the inaugural Fyre Festival basically didn’t happen. As documented by the viral Netflix documentary, Fyre Festival was a disaster on a mass scale. Hundreds of ticketholders were left stranded on a [...]