Cloudy outlook to prompt MPC to hold fire on rates and QE September 23, 2021 A slowing economic recovery from the Covid-19 crisis, sharp energy price rises and tax hikes squeezing Brits’ household incomes are likely to prompt the Bank of England’s committee of rate setters to err on the side of caution today. The Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) will announce its latest decision on rates and the fate [...]
The Many Saints of Newark review: The Sopranos makes its long-awaited return September 21, 2021 * This review contains spoilers for The Sopranos TV show * The Sopranos was a near-perfect TV show, a Shakespearean epic that took the gangster movies of Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese and shaped them into a surreal, psychological soap opera. Where other shows have aged, the Sopranos is as fresh today as when [...]
Brits face choice between heating and eating, warns personal finance guru Martin Lewis September 20, 2021 Thousands of Brits will be forced to make the devastating choice between heating and eating as energy bills rise, Martin Lewis has warned. The consumer and personal finance champion called the ongoing energy crisis “catastrophic” and said intervention is needed to help consumers. Soaring wholesale gas prices are putting an upward pressure on energy bills. [...]
Retail sales fall as reopening bounceback runs out of steam September 17, 2021 Retail sales volumes dropped 0.9 per cent last month as Brits rushed to dine out at restaurants when lockdown restrictions eased and stores faced supply disruption. A dip in food store sales of 1.2 per cent and a 1.5 per cent jump in automotive fuel sales suggests that people leaned into post-lockdown freedoms by travelling [...]
Higher than expected inflation clip drags London markets down September 15, 2021 London’s FTSE 100 dipped today, driven lower by a higher than expected inflation clip in August fuelling concerns the Bank of England may rein in stimulus measures sooner than forecast. The capital’s premier index closed down 0.25 per cent to 7,016.49 points, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 finished 1.07 per cent to lower, dropping to [...]
Marvel What If…? episode 5 review – an undead adventure September 9, 2021 There have been some interestingly complex questions in the first half of What If…?, Marvel’s cavalcade of hypotheticals. What would happen if Peggy Carter became the hero Steve was meant to be, or if the original Avengers were killed before they started? This week, things are a bit simpler, and this is reflected in episode [...]
Give your business a boost and ‘move on up’ to North East England September 8, 2021 The coronavirus pandemic has seen organisations in all sectors find new, innovative ways of working. From remote and hybrid offices, to the adoption of new digital technologies like video conferencing and cloud computing; the pace of change has been unprecedented. Another significant trend – one that was well established before the pandemic but has continued [...]
E-commerce bonanza: Brits to spend record £120bn online this year alone September 6, 2021 Following a surge in online sales in 2020 thanks to Covid-19 and three strict lockdowns, UK shoppers are expected to further increase their spending as new data forecasts £120.5bn in online purchases this year alone. Online sales in the UK saw an increase of 46.5 per cent in 2020, with British consumers spending £110.6bn online [...]
US stocks scale to new heights … again September 2, 2021 Wall Street’s main benchmarks scaled to new record highs once again today, as investors brace for an expected bumper jobs report tomorrow. The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq both hit new peaks today, but pulled back slightly heading into the early afternoon session. The former was up 0.38 per cent to 4,541.45 points and [...]
Morrisons added to FTSE 100, Just Eat booted from blue-chip index September 2, 2021 British supermarket chain Morrisons is joining London’s premier FTSE 100 index, while takeaway delivery service company Just Eat Takeaway.com has been booted from the benchmark of blue-chip stocks. Engineer Weir Group will also leave the FTSE 100, while defence technology company Meggitt will be added. Meanwhile, on the index of mid-cap companies, the FTSE 250, [...]