UK must overhaul planning to meet renewable goals, warns National Grid November 1, 2022 The UK will have to ramp up planning reform to meet its green energy goals, confirms National Grid boss John Pettigrew.
House price growth slows for first time in 15 months as Brits battle scaling mortgage rates November 1, 2022 Annual house price growth in the UK slowed to 7.2 per cent in October, from 9.5 per cent in September, according to Nationwide this morning. It means the average cost of a home in the country now stands at £268,282. Nationwide chief economist, Robert Gardner, likened current mortgage rates to annual wage ratios to those [...]
Hunt and Sunak face £89bn fiscal hole without tax rises or spending cuts November 1, 2022 Without spending cuts or tax rises, prime minister Rishi Sunak and chancellor Jeremy Hunt will burn a £89bn hole in the public finances in a few years time, a new report out today reveals. A combination of former prime minister Liz Truss’s tax cuts in the shambolic 23 September mini-budget still lingering and a flatlining [...]
Call-in powers would be a grave threat to the regulator’s vital independence October 31, 2022 Politicians should be wary of the damage they could do to our regulators’ reputation for independence if they move forward with call-in powers Independence is a funny old thing. At a national level, it can be won and lost in the blink of an eye. At more prosaic levels, building up independence – and a [...]
London’s FTSE 100 gains tamed by traders dumping house builders on property price jitters October 31, 2022 London’s FTSE 100 was tamed today by traders ditching the UK’s largest house builders on fears the property is headed for a sharp slowdown. The capital’s premier index’s gains were held to 0.66 per cent, finishing at 7,094.53 points. The domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK [...]
Sunak to confirm plan to give Treasury call-in powers over City regulators October 31, 2022 Rishi Sunak is set to push ahead with plans to give ministers the power to overrule decisions made by City regulators. The Treasury has confirmed the government will still go-ahead with the Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng initiative, despite concerns from the Bank of England about the measure. The new call-in power will see ministers [...]
Eurozone inflation breaches forecasts to hit record 10.7 per cent October 31, 2022 Eurozone inflation has surged past expectations to 10.7 per cent this month in a further sign the European Central Bank (ECB) will have to keep heaping misery on businesses and households to tame prices. Prices continued to climb rapidly in all the bloc’s major economies, signalling the effects of the ECB’s pivot from years of [...]
Bank of England, Home Office, MI5 and News Corp HQ targeted by Just Stop Oil vandalism October 31, 2022 The Bank of England was among London landmarks targeted by environment activists this morning, along with the Home Office, MI5 and headquarters of News Corp. Two Just Stop Oil demonstrators were arrested by City police outside the Bank of England, after the building was covered in orange paint. The City of London Police said the [...]
All eyes on the EU as ECB faces ‘nightmare scenario’ of record inflation and need to hike rates again October 31, 2022 Last week was the fourth successive week of gains for equity markets in Europe as well as the US, despite some high-profile earnings misses. It’s been particularly notable that while there were some notable earnings misses, especially in the tech sector, by and large the more traditional areas of the market have performed better. “While [...]
Soaring interest rates could spark five per cent London house price fall October 31, 2022 Soaring interest rates and a tough cost of living crisis could send London house prices on a downward spiral, new research published today warns. Home prices in the capital are on course to shed five per cent next year, driven by sellers dropping prices to attract buyers hit by an affordability crunch, according to property [...]