Cost of living crunch to deliver shock to UK households’ balance sheets May 4, 2022 Households’ balance sheets are set to be tainted by problem debt this year, driven by the worsening cost of living crunch forcing Brits to turn to credit cards to pay bills, reveals fresh analysis published today. Accelerating inflation over the course of this year is likely to spark a jump in unsecured lending, credit that [...]
The City View: Michael Hewson on why calls for a windfall tax are misplaced May 3, 2022 Today Andy Silvester talks to Michael Hewson, Chief Market Analyst at CMC Markets. They pick apart the arguments for a windfall tax on BP, discuss potential rate rises from the Fed and Bank of England, and go through the impact that China’s zero-Covid policy has had on manufacturing in the country. And in other news [...]
Paul Merson: Football should do more to stop lives being ruined by gambling addiction May 3, 2022 Former footballer and reformed addict Paul Merson believes the sport should do more to stop players falling prey to gambling problems. Merson also battled alcohol and drugs during a career that nevertheless gleaned league titles, European trophies and playing at World Cups for England. The ex-Arsenal forward, 54, was driven to the brink of suicide [...]
British factories lift prices at record pace as Ukraine war and China lockdowns send costs soaring May 3, 2022 Severe supply chain disruption caused by Beijing persisting with its zero-Covid tolerance policy and Russia’s war with Ukraine has sent British factories’ costs soaring at the quickest pace on record, reveals a closely watched survey released today. Shortages of raw materials and key components used by UK manufacturers due to normal trade flows being choked [...]
Poor start of the month for global markets: April weakness rolls into May with China lockdowns not helping May 3, 2022 Asia markets got off to a poor start to the month yesterday, as did markets in Europe after the latest China PMIs showed that economic activity in April fell back by more than expected. Much was made of the slowdown in China manufacturing to 47.4 from 49.5, however non-manufacturing saw an even bigger fall, plunging [...]
Exclusive: Londoners absorb heaviest national insurance hike hit May 3, 2022 Londoners have suffered the worst blow to their finances in the UK in the first month the national insurance hike has been in effect, reveals exclusive research shared with City A.M. today. Workers in the capital have absorbed a near £300m blow to their budgets from higher national insurance bills, the biggest jump in the [...]
Investors brace for more US Federal Reserve and Bank of England rate hikes May 3, 2022 Traders in the City and Wall Street are this week bracing for their respective central banks to push on with more rate hikes in response to a historic inflation crunch on either side of the pond. The US Federal Reserve and Bank of England announce their next interest rate decision tomorrow and Thursday respectively. Both [...]
China zero-Covid policy and Ukraine war brings Europe factory output to ‘standstill’ May 2, 2022 China’s adherence to zero-Covid tolerance policies and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has brought manufacturing “to a near standstill” in Europe, reveals a closely watched survey released today. Widespread shortages of raw materials used by factories on the Continent caused by Beijing plunging key trade hubs such as Shanghai into lockdown in response to a surge [...]
Week ahead: Wall Street and City eye central bank rate decisions May 2, 2022 Traders in the City and on Wall Street will be eyeing how much their respective central banks hike interest rates by in a week of key economic and corporate announcements. London’s premier FTSE 100 index posted a reasonable performance last week, adding 0.3 per cent to finish at 7,544.55 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE [...]
It’s been a funny old week in the world of Bitcoin April 29, 2022 This week can only be described as the “week of international events” for Bitcoin as news has come thick and fast from all corners.