UK borrowing falls as debt pile revised to under 100 per cent of economy July 21, 2023 The Government’s debt pile was bigger than the country’s economic output in June – the first time this has happened for more than 60 years, official data shows. Public sector net borrowing hit £18.5 billion last month, down from £20 billion a month earlier, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. It pushed the total [...]
Bank of England must keep raising rates to finally kill off inflation, City experts say July 20, 2023 The Bank of England should not yet let up on raising interest rates to ensure inflation has finally been defeated. That’s the verdict of City economists despite the Office for National Statistics today revealing the cost of living fell faster than expected to 7.9 per cent in June, down from 8.7 per cent in May. [...]
Bank of England says UK’s big banks passed stress test and are ‘resilient’ to rising rates July 12, 2023 The UK’s largest lenders passed the Bank of England’s stress tests with flying colours, even as concerns grow around the health of the mortgage market. In its latest stress test, the Bank of England concluded that banks were “resilient”, enabling them to withstand persistently higher inflation and a deep global recession. “The UK banking system [...]
Power of Inclusion Breakfast Discusses Social Mobility and Building Effective Networks July 11, 2023 On Wednesday 5th July, The Lord Mayor’s Appeal held the second in its series of Power of Inclusion Social Mobility Workshops. Kindly hosted by Janus Henderson Investors, over 60 participants gathered to discuss social mobility, exploring the value of formal and informal networks and how to build effective networks within their organisations. The workshop series [...]
Shock record wage growth amplifies risk of 14th straight Bank of England interest rate rise July 11, 2023 Workers’ pay is rising faster than expected and at among the quickest paces on record in a sign that the Bank of England will deliver a 14th straight interest rate rise next month, official figures out this morning reveal. Pay excluding bonuses rose 7.3 per cent over the three months to May on an annual [...]
Accelerating redundancies ‘big concern’ for UK economy as firms sweat over recession July 10, 2023 Accelerating redundancies sparked by businesses sweating over whether the UK economy is on course for a recession are a “big concern” for the country, experts have warned today. Company layoffs have pushed the volume of unemployed workers available for jobs to its highest level since December 2020, when the UK was in the teeth of [...]
New car market ‘growing back and growing green’ with EV surge – but rate hikes peak concern July 5, 2023 Britain’s new car market recorded its 11th consecutive month of growth in June with registrations rising 25.8 per cent – but it might not be smooth driving in the near future. Just under one million new cars were registered in the first half of 2023, up 18.4 per cent on the previous 2022, according to [...]
Insurers back Bank of England Brexit Solvency II reforms and new investment push June 30, 2023 Insurers welcomed proposals released yesterday detailing potential post-Brexit reforms to the EU’s Solvency II regime. The EU’s Solvency II regime imposed rules on how much capital insurers had to hold and where it could be invested. Plans to reform the regime were announced last year and are designed to unlock billions in capital from the [...]
KPMG and PwC slapped with fines of almost £3m for botched Eddie Stobart audits June 29, 2023 Big four accountancy firms PwC and KPMG have been fined a total of nearly £3m over botched audits of logistics giant Eddie Stobart in 2017 and 2018. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said this morning it would fine PwC £1.99m and partner Philip Storer £51,000, with both receiving a “severe reprimand.” KPMG received a fine [...]
PwC set to hand 25,000 junior staff a real-terms pay cut – despite FRC plea to give them more June 28, 2023 Big four firm PwC has reportedly told its junior auditors their pay is going to be frozen, amid concerns it will make the industry less attractive. According to reports in the FT, around 25,000 staff members are set to get lower pay rises, with the accountancy giant citing the challenging market conditions and pay rises’ [...]