Number 10: Johnson will not outline a cost of living package this summer August 8, 2022 Number 10 has confirmed that Boris Johnson will not be announcing an emergency package of measures to help Brits being squeezed by the worsening cost of living crisis. Johnson’s official spokesman today said “it will be for a future Prime Minister to decide whether … measures are required”. It comes after former Prime Minister Gordon [...]
Oil prices collapse to February lows amid growing fears of global recession August 8, 2022 Fears of a worldwide recession and weakened demand for oil continues to weigh down prices on both major benchmarks.
China trade surplus hits record high while markets nervously await Fed’s next move August 8, 2022 Markets in Europe look set to open slightly lower as we start a new week after US markets closed mixed on Friday, and the latest July trade data for China pointed to weak domestic demand. Any thoughts that the US Federal Reserve might have to start going soft when it comes to the tightening of [...]
Businesses scramble to hire workers despite looming UK recession August 8, 2022 Businesses are scrambling to fill vacancies at a rapid pace despite the UK staring down the barrel of the longest recession since the financial crisis, revealed new figures published yesterday. A shortage of workers partly driven by people dipping out of the jobs market due to Covid-19 related health issues and Brexit has intensified competition [...]
Steaming US jobs market raises risk of another jumbo Fed rate hike August 7, 2022 The US jobs market is still steaming despite the world’s biggest economy wobbling under the weight of soaring inflation and higher interest rates, figures published last week showed. America added 528,000 jobs in July, pushing the unemployment rate down to 3.5 per cent, below pre Covid-19 levels, according to data from the US Labor Department. [...]
Truss hasn’t ruled out emergency cash payments, says ally Penny Mordaunt August 7, 2022 Liz Truss has not ruled out giving Brits cash payments later this year to combat the cost of living crunch, Penny Mordaunt has said. The senior Truss ally, and fallen leadership contender, today said that people had been “overinterpreting” comments made by the foreign secretary this weekend about her policy plans. Truss told the Financial [...]
US Federal Reserve’s rate hike cycle takes centre stage in investors’ minds August 7, 2022 Investors are grappling with a mix of challenges they have not faced in years. Tighter monetary policy. Sky-high inflation. Strong geopolitical tensions. These factors have driven volatile swings in asset prices. Usually in times of uncertainty, investors pile into the US dollar and American assets. And that is exactly what they are doing now. US [...]
Gordon Brown says UK needs emergency budget to combat ‘financial timebomb’ August 7, 2022 The government needs to set an emergency budget or millions of Brits will face “a winter of dire poverty”, according to Gordon Brown. The former Prime Minister today said families are facing a “financial timebomb” in October as inflation continues to climb and Ofgem prepares to lift the energy price cap again. There are fresh [...]
Week ahead: City braces for soft economy data and US inflation figures August 7, 2022 Top of City traders’ minds this week will be whether fresh GDP figures reveal the UK is already in the early stages of the drawn out recession the Bank of England forecast last week. Despite the economic doom, London’s FTSE 100 was broadly stable, edging 0.16 per cent lower to close the week at 7,439.74 [...]
Tory leadership: Truss and Sunak pledge cost of living help worth billions August 7, 2022 Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss have pledged billions of pounds worth of cost of living help as Britons face down further inflation increases. Truss, the frontrunner to be the next Prime Minister, told The Telegraph she would rush through £30bn+ in tax cuts months earlier than planned to combat the expected increases in inflation in [...]