CBDCs – the future of banking or an Orwellian Nightmare? January 6, 2023 Susie Violet Ward presents the case against central bank digital currencies, arguing they're a one-way ticket to trouble.
European inflation falls quicker than expected but recession fears will weigh on likely ECB rate hikes January 6, 2023 Inflation in Europe is falling faster than expected, but there are signs the worldwide price surge that is set to bring on a global recession may not be finished just yet, official figures out today reveal. A flash estimate by stats agency Eurostat for the rate of price increases in the eurozone came in at [...]
Pound sterling: 2023 could be another torrid year as it tumbles to November low against US dollar January 6, 2023 The pound has tumbled to its lowest level against the US dollar since November, pushed down by investors on both sides of the Atlantic betting the Federal Reserve will keep raising interest rates aggressively this year. The currency dropped a shade over 0.2 per cent to $1.19 this morning, leaving it trading at pre-Christmas levels. [...]
London house prices grow in December with UK homes falling, but 2023 set to bring good news for property owners January 6, 2023 London’s average property price grew by almost 3 per cent, while the average UK home fell 1.5 per cent between November and December 2022. The average property actually rose two per cent when compared with the same month in 2021, according to the latest Halifax house price data, while annual rate of house price growth [...]
Safe as houses: as years pass by, residential property remains the most resilient investment January 6, 2023 When Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II passed away last year, it brought the nation – and much of the world – together in mourning. With 70 years on the throne, Queen Elizabeth II replaced Queen Victoria as the United Kingdom’s longest reigning monarch. There was much that united the two, from overseeing periods of dramatic [...]
FTSE 100 Close: Standard Chartered pops after shock takeover rumours emerge January 5, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 extended its hot start to 2023 today, helped along the way by Asia-focused Standard Chartered surging after news emerged rival lender First Abu Dhabi Bank has been mulling snapping up the firm. Its shares shot up around a fifth during early exchanges in the City today, before paring back to eventually close [...]
Next boss Lord Wolfson: London’s High Streets had ‘more to worry about’ four years ago despite loss of brands like Topshop January 5, 2023 Next boss Lord Wolfson has “less reason to worry about the high street” compared to a few years ago, on the tail of a slew of household names shuttering. Physical retail was in a less concerning position than in recent years, when a switch to online shopping signalled a death knell for many staple retailers, [...]
The verdict: Experts react to Keir Starmer’s plan for the economy January 5, 2023 Keir Starmer is right to harness the power of government and business working together to fix the UK economy, but “time will tell” whether Labour sticks to sensible spending, economists judged after his maiden speech of 2023 today. Speaking in East London, the opposition leader promised to work side by side with private firms to [...]
Britain’s 1.6m temp workers risk missing out on close to £100m in unclaimed holiday pay January 5, 2023 Amid a 40-year inflation high, soaring energy bills and rising mortgage payments, Britain’s 1.6m temporary workers have been urged to claim an estimated £97m worth of unclaimed holiday pay from employment agencies and umbrella companies engaging them. The urgent call comes from a support group for independent workers, IWORK, that has brought to light that many of the UK’s flexible workforce are [...]
Britain slides into recession that risks lasting whole of 2023, City analysts warn January 5, 2023 Britain has slid into the early stages of a recession that risks burning on for the whole of this year, a closely watched survey published today reveals. S&P Global and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply’s (CIPS) final purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for December hit 49.9, a slight rise from 48.8 from November, the [...]