Most UK homebuyers and owners are locking in mortgage rates as rises loom September 13, 2022 The majority of homebuyers and owners are locking in their mortgage rates to escape looming rate rises later this year, according to the latest data. Most new buyers – some 95.5 per cent – are taking out fixed rate mortgages, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found, while the proportion of mortgaged homeowners fixing their rates [...]
Congestion to hit London as mourners flock in their thousands September 13, 2022 Congestion is expected to hit London as hundreds of thousands of mourners flock to the capital to pay their respects to the Queen. There are currently up to 750,000 people lining the streets of Westminster queuing to see the Queen’s coffin, in contrast with Westminster Hall’s capacity to process 350,000. Network Rail stations across London [...]
UK joblessness falls to 1970s low, but pay continues to plummet September 13, 2022 UK joblessness has slid to its lowest level since 1974, but scorching inflation is still wiping out Brits’ pay, official figures published today reveal. The proportion of people out of work dropped to 3.6 per cent in the three months to July, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Despite the historic low unemployment [...]
Lidl joins Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Primark to shut shops for Queen’s funeral September 12, 2022 Top supermarkets and retailers including Lidl, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s are set to shut their UK stores on the day of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral. Major retailers B&Q and Primark will also close shops for the bank holiday to mark the Queen’s state-funeral next Monday. Some supermarkets are also working on plans to cut some of [...]
London’s FTSE 100 bounces despite GDP undershoot September 12, 2022 London’s FTSE 100 bounced today despite new figures revealing the UK economy is much weaker than expected. The capital’s premier index climbed 1.66 per cent to 7,473.03 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, surged 1.7 per cent to 19,513.87 points. Traders shook [...]
UK economy already in throes of drawn out recession, City warns after GDP disappoints September 12, 2022 The UK economy is already in recession and Liz Truss’s energy support package is unlikely to lift it out of its slump anytime soon, City economists warned today. Weaker than expected growth figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) today prompted experts to sound the recession alarm. Gross domestic product (GDP) climbed 0.2 per [...]
Energy bills is Kwarteng’s first priority, then we must claw back our dismal productivity September 12, 2022 A looming 15-month long recession. Highest debt burden since the 1960s. Biggest living standards shock on record. It’s not the best time to be managing the UK economy. But that’s exactly what newly appointed chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has been tasked with. His problems can be split into three categories: short, medium and long term. Kwarteng’s [...]
London’s economy powers through August in ‘growth mode’ as UK stalls September 12, 2022 London’s economy powered through August in “growth mode” despite the UK stalling, a new survey published today reveals. High street bank NatWest’s London purchasing managers’ index (PMI) remained in positive territory in August at 54.9. However, the PMI dropped sharply from 58 in July and was the weakest reading in nearly a year and a [...]
Meet the duo explaining the ‘dismal science’ 10 points at a time September 12, 2022 People think economics is boring. It’s all about finance. It’s all about money, they say. It’s tough to argue with them given the subject’s nicknamed the “dismal science”. But, two secondary school teachers are on a mission to change people’s minds about that. Peter Clift (Pete) and Gavin Simpson (Gav) and are the hosts of [...]
Bank of England to send rates to four per cent after Truss energy package September 11, 2022 The Bank of England could be forced to hike interest rates to their highest level since October 2008 to offset Liz Truss’s around £150bn energy support stoking inflation, City economists have warned. Sanjay Raja, senior economist at Deutsche Bank, said borrowing costs may be hoisted to restrictive territory to tame price pressures, possibly reaching a [...]