UK banks no longer ‘too big to fail’ but sector still has room for improvement June 10, 2022 All of the UK’s top banks would survive a major financial shock, but some have shortcomings in ensuring they fund themselves through a crisis, the Bank of England said today. Britain’s eight biggest high street lenders would be able to fail safely without a repeat of bailouts seen during the financial crisis in 2008, according [...]
Inflation jitters deal chilling blow to London markets June 10, 2022 Fears over inflation dealing a chilling blow to the global economy and the prospect of a more restrictive monetary policy environment weighed on London markets today. The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index dipped 0.94 per cent to 7,405.77 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the [...]
UK jobs market tension shows little sign of unwinding June 10, 2022 Tension in the UK jobs market shows little sign of unwinding as employers continue to struggle to find workers amid a shallower labour pool, reveals a closely watched survey today. Vacancies edged lower in May, indicates 71 reading on KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation’s (REC) employment index. Despite falling, the reading is far [...]
Andrew Bailey’s confusion over inflation is a worrisome precedent for policy-making June 10, 2022 The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will meet again next week to assess inflation. In the last two years the Bank’s inflation forecast has proven systematically wrong, showing a fundamental error in the models and rationale used. In a conference hosted by the Austrian national central bank last month, the Governor of the [...]
PM declares end of high tax and spend as he says govt will ‘get out of the way’ June 9, 2022 Boris Johnson has indicated a major reset in the direction of his government, with the Prime Minister declaring the end of Covid-era “corporate welfare” and that now is the time to “stop spending and start cutting taxes and cutting regulation”. Johnson said “the overall burden of taxation is now very high”, after himself increasing the [...]
European Central Bank confirms first rate rise in over a decade next month June 9, 2022 The European Central Bank (ECB) today confirmed it will hike rates for the first time in over a decade in a sign that the era of loose policy and low inflation is coming to an end. President Christine Lagarde and co said the central bank will lift rates 25 basis points next month, which will [...]
Cutting taxes without reshaping state is ‘challenging’ task, former BoE chief economist says June 8, 2022 The scope to cut taxes without worsening the standard of public services delivered by the state is limited, according to one of the UK’s top economic wonks. Professor Sir Charlie Bean, 68, told Nick Ferrari’s LBC breakfast show today that it will be “challenging… to sustain significantly lower taxes” without reshaping “what the state does”. [...]
Hedge Funds hit out at London Metal Exchange over ‘conflicts-of-interest’ in nickel price fiasco June 8, 2022 The Managed Funds Association (MFA), a powerful Washington lobby group, has accused the London Metal Exchange (LME) of failing to manage its “conflicts-of-interest,” as the market faces mounting criticism over its decision to halt nickel trading last March. In comments submitted to the LME, the industry body which represents hedge funds with £2.6trn worth of [...]
Insurers need more data to properly model climate risk, Bank of England insurance chief says June 8, 2022 The UK’s insurance sector lacks “comprehensive and high quality data” it needs to properly evaluate climate risk, the head of the Bank of England’s (BoE’s) insurance division has said. Speaking at the Association of British Insurers’ (ABI’s) climate summit 2022, Stefan Claus, the head of the BoE’s general insurance division, said insurers are struggling to [...]
UK to clock weakest growth in rich world amid economic ‘stagnation’ June 8, 2022 The UK will clock the weakest growth in the rich world caused by households retrenching amid the worst cost of living crisis in a generation, according to new forecasts released today. Rampant inflation driven by accelerating global energy prices as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and ongoing supply chain disruptions caused by China’s [...]