Shock record wage growth amplifies risk of 14th straight Bank of England interest rate rise July 11, 2023 Workers’ pay is rising faster than expected and at among the quickest paces on record in a sign that the Bank of England will deliver a 14th straight interest rate rise next month, official figures out this morning reveal. Pay excluding bonuses rose 7.3 per cent over the three months to May on an annual [...]
Government’s aid investor: Why only the private sector can lift people out of poverty July 11, 2023 In 1948, the chair of the Colonial Development Corporation Lord Reith described the newly formed state-backed body’s role as to “do good without losing money”. Since then it has been through a number of understandable rebrands and rejigs. It swapped its title for the Commonwealth Development Corporation in 1963, before winning a mandate from government [...]
FTSE 100 close: London index muted as interest rate fears linger July 10, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 kicked off a new week just about in the green today as a reduction in UK debt costs gave the index a reprieve from a torrid time of late. The capital’s premier index edged 0.23 per cent higher to close at 7,273.80 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250, which tends to [...]
Bank of England won’t hesitate to hike rates if inflation persists, warns Andrew Bailey July 10, 2023 The Bank of England will have to keep on lifting interest rates if wages keep rising at a near record pace and businesses continue to pass on swelling costs, Governor Andrew Bailey has signalled today. In a speech delivered at the annual Mansion House bankers’ dinner, Bailey said price pressures emanating from the labour market [...]
DWF shares surge 40 per cent amid takeover talks with private equity firm July 10, 2023 Shares in legal services outfit DWF rocketed today after the firm revealed it was in talks with London-based Inflexion Private Equity Partners regarding a possible buyout. In a statement to the London Stock Exchange, DWF said it was in talks for a deal worth about £342m. Shares in DWF soared as much as 40 per [...]
Thames Water taps shareholders for extra £750m in bid to avert collapse July 10, 2023 Debt-laden Thames Water has secured an extra £750m of equity funding from shareholders, as the firm races to avoid nationalisation.
Hurricane Taylor: Viagogo exec says Swifties deserve better from music industry July 10, 2023 Taylor Swift tickets go on sale this week in one of the most hotly-anticipated releases ever, and Viagogo boss Cris Miller writes for City A.M. saying it shows need for the industry to reform
Accelerating redundancies ‘big concern’ for UK economy as firms sweat over recession July 10, 2023 Accelerating redundancies sparked by businesses sweating over whether the UK economy is on course for a recession are a “big concern” for the country, experts have warned today. Company layoffs have pushed the volume of unemployed workers available for jobs to its highest level since December 2020, when the UK was in the teeth of [...]
Financial services dealmaking reaches 10-year high as appetite rebounds July 10, 2023 Dealmaking in the UK’s financial services sector reached its highest level in a decade in the first half of the year as top firms scrambled for safety in scale amid economic volatility, fresh data has revealed.
Wage growth has ‘passed its peak’ as Andrew Bailey prepares to address City on interest rates July 10, 2023 Workers returning to the jobs markets and boosting the volume of candidates available to businesses are poised to put a lid on wage growth, analysts are predicting official numbers this week will show. Pay growth is said to have “passed its peak” after raging for more than a year, fuelled by staff demanding wage increases [...]