Pantheon: Investment slump on Bank of England’s rate hikes will deepen UK recession January 10, 2023 The UK recession is set to be powered by businesses slashing investment due to higher interest rates squeezing their finances, City economists have warned. Finance chiefs are “despondent” amid a rapid acceleration in borrowing costs caused by the Bank of England scrambling to tame sky high inflation, Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, [...]
Sunak and Starmer offer little new year cheer on ailing UK growth path January 10, 2023 This brand new weekly column, published every Tuesday, will drill down into the stories behind the numbers to reveal what makes the UK – and global – economy tick. But, today, inspired by what resembled soon-to-broken new year’s resolutions by political leaders last week, it will make the case for why a stable government economic [...]
FTSE 100 close: China reopening boosts Antofagasta and London miners January 9, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 has today extended its robust start to the new year, fuelled by mining giants clinching gains on investors betting commodity prices are on the rise as China dismantles pretty much all of its Covid-19 restrictions. The capital’s premier index jumped 0.33 per cent to close at 7,724.93 points on the opening day [...]
Bank of England chief economist Pill admits we ‘underestimated’ inflation surge January 9, 2023 The Bank of England did not understand inflation “well enough” and “underestimated” the strength of the 40-year high price surge, its chief economist admitted in a speech in the US today. Huw Pill said with “the benefit of hindsight,” the central bank’s “own analysis” failed to foresee inflationary pressures magnified by global supply chain pressures [...]
Exclusive: UK firms stop hiring and mull layoffs as recession takes hold January 9, 2023 Layoffs are on course to climb, driven by businesses cutting costs amid what risks being the longest UK recession in memory, exclusive research shared with City A.M. indicates. Firms are planning to pause hiring or even sack workers to protect their finances from a slump in spending sparked by the cost of living crisis. Nearly [...]
UK’s cost of living crisis will swipe over £2k from Brits pockets with some groups expected to feel squeeze of recession even more January 9, 2023 The UK is just halfway through a cost of living crisis that will swipe £2,100 year from incomes with living standards remaining at pre Covid levels until at least 2028, a report out today has revealed. The cost of living crisis which, when combined with a tough recession, will leave households worse off than they [...]
Covid variant, China invasion of Taiwan and more inflation: What shocks will 2023 bring? January 8, 2023 A new Covid-19 variant that escapes vaccines is among the biggest risks threatening to sharpen the UK recession, City economists surveyed by City A.M. suspect. Asked what wildcard trends could spring up to hit the economy this year, experts warned another deadly strain of the virus spreading is one of the biggest headwinds that would [...]
Rishi Sunak hits back at critics of inflation promise but warns government ‘can’t help anybody’ if prices don’t fall January 8, 2023 Rishi Sunak has today claimed halving inflation by the end of the year – one of his five promises to the British public – will happen “because of the plans [the government] have put in place”. Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, the prime minister doubled down on a series of pledges [...]
Recession spreads to British construction as experts brace for a jump in unemployment and the cost of living January 6, 2023 British builders are being dragged into a slump by the recession that has taken hold in the wider economy, a closely watched survey has revealed.. S&P Global and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply’s (CIPS) final purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the construction sector for December fell to 48.8 from 50.4. The reading means [...]
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.