UK economy on recession cliff edge as GDP unexpectedly shrinks October 12, 2022 The UK is staring over a recession cliff edge, caused by soaring inflation and rising interest rates, that will be lengthened by turmoil in financial markets, official figures published today revealed. The economy unexpectedly shrank 0.3 per cent over the month to August, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Economists had expected gross [...]
Qinetiq doubles down on profit targets despite ‘challenging’ environment October 12, 2022 Defence giant Qinetiq doubled down on its profits targets today after locking in £800m orders in the first half of the year despite a “challenging” economic environment,
Exclusive: Ex Tory chair Baroness Warsi says PM Liz Truss should call a General Election October 12, 2022 A former chair of the Conservative Party has said Prime Minister Liz Truss should call a General Election. Speaking exclusively to City A.M., Baroness Sayeeda Warsi said prime minister Liz Truss either “had to just carry on with the 2019 manifesto – or go to the electorate” upon entering Number 10. “Because neither of those [...]
London’s FTSE 100 pulled down by pension managers after more BoE bond support October 11, 2022 London’s FTSE 100 today was pulled down by the UK’s largest money managers dropping after the Bank of England stepped up its support for the bond market again. The capital’s premier index dropped 1.06 per cent to 6,885.23 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the [...]
Bank of England steps up bond market support again to tame ‘risk to financial stability’ October 11, 2022 The Bank of England today stepped up its emergency bond buying scheme to tackle “a material risk to UK financial stability”. It is the second time in as many days the Bank has ramped up support for the UK bond market, underscoring the scale of volatility it is grappling with. The monetary authority led by [...]
Recruitment firm Robert Walters continues to cash in on hiring spree October 11, 2022 Recruitment firm Robert Walters continues to cash in on the competitive labour market, with gross profit jumping 22 per cent in the third-quarter. The British firm said net fee income climbed 26 per cent year-on-year to £112m in the three months ending 30 September. “The macro-economic backdrop became more uncertain as the quarter progressed. Nevertheless, job flow [...]
Kwarteng promises ‘upbeat’ Halloween fiscal plan amid speculation of cuts October 11, 2022 Kwasi Kwarteng today promised his Halloween fiscal plan will be “upbeat” amid widespread speculation he will unveil spending cuts. The chancellor batted away a series of questions in the House of Commons around whether he will introduce real-terms cuts to benefits and promised more details would be unveiled on 31 October. The Treasury has said [...]
UK headed for stagnation on worst inflation crisis in G7, IMF warns October 11, 2022 A historic hit to Brits’ living standards from roaring inflation and rising interest rates has thrown the UK economy on course to stagnation, the world’s lender of last resort warned today. The UK economy will grow a better than expected 3.6 per cent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) latest World Economic [...]
Redundancies dip by a third but gloomy outlook may mean rise is ‘inevitable’ October 11, 2022 The number of redundancies in the UK has defied doomsayer’ predictions and dropped a third in the last quarter, but a gloomy outlook means a rise is expected in the near future. Employment law firm GQIlitter reported there has been a 32 per cent drop in workers being let go, falling fro 53,000 to 36,000. [...]
Pret A Manger invests £10m in staff pay bringing salaries above inflation October 11, 2022 Pret A Manger will invest £10m to support its staff with the cost of living crisis, bringing pay above inflation. The outlet will give its workers a salary boost from 1 December to the tune of five per cent. This comes after the coffee chain invested £9.2m in April this year, with 6,500 of its [...]