If the Conservatives want to survive, they need to regain their economic credibility April 27, 2022 Now, people’s money is counting for less and less as inflation pushes prices up. And a YouGov poll put Labour ahead of the Conservatives on six out of seven economic trackers. For the first time, the same number of people think a Labour government led by Keir Starmer would be better at managing the economy as those believe the same of a Boris-Johnson led Conservative government.
MPs say government was ‘complacent’ on Covid fraud in new report April 27, 2022 The government was “complacent in preventing fraud” against the Covid Bounce Back Loan Scheme and will lose almost £5bn to scammers, according to a Westminster committee. MPs on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the £47bn loan scheme – which saw the government take on 100 per cent of default risk – was delivered at [...]
Investors should ditch volatile tech where ‘profitability jars against interest rates’, argues digital health guru April 26, 2022 Much has been made of the current shortage in carers in the UK. The latest ONS data indicates a vacancy rate of 8.2 per cent in the care sector, nearly double the national average, and an overall shortfall of 105,000 workers. Some forecasts even suggests that an additional 627,000 people will be required by 2030 [...]
UK flirting dangerously close with recession this year, economists warn April 26, 2022 The UK economy is flirting dangerously close with falling into recession this year as a result of inflation dealing a heavy blow to households and businesses. That’s according to a slate of gloomy forecasts from some of the City’s top economists. Elevated food, energy and core goods prices will send inflation to a peak of [...]
HSBC profits slide on looming inflation default wave April 26, 2022 A deterioration in borrowers’ credit worthiness caused by a historic cost of living squeeze prompted Britain’s biggest lender HSBC to set aside millions of pounds to deal with a rise in defaults. The bank, which sources a large proportion of its profits from China and Asia, banked $600m (£470m) in reserves to cope with a [...]
Sombre faces in Canary Wharf as HSBC profits nosedive on Ukraine war and inflation worries April 26, 2022 It’s not the best of mornings for HSBC as the banking giant saw its first-quarter profits tumble by more than a quarter after taking a hit on expected bad debts due to the Ukraine war and soaring inflation. The lender posted a 28 per cent drop in pre-tax profits to £3.3bn for the first three [...]
Heart and Seoul in South Korea, as the nation reopens for tourism April 25, 2022 The baby octopus floats in its tank, blissfully ignorant, until, all too soon, its time comes. The tiny, wrinkled old woman, who, I later learn, has been manning this particular food stall in Seoul’s colourful, noisy, aromatic Gwangjang market for over thirty-two years, yanks it out unceremoniously and whacks it down onto the steel surface. [...]
UK factories hit by 1970s-style cost crunch in inflation surge warning April 25, 2022 UK factories are having to swallow the quickest rise in input costs for five decades in a sign that the cost of living crunch gripping consumers is set to tighten, reveals fresh figures published today. The cost to manufacturers of buying components has accelerated at the steepest pace since 1975, according to Britain’s top business [...]
1 Minute Market Rundown – 25th April 2022 April 25, 2022 Risk Firmly on the BackfootCrypto LowerSterling and Euro Looking More and More Vulnerable Risk remains heavy across the board as fears over covid in China weigh on markets compounded fears sparked by faster and more aggressive FED tightening. We are also seeing commodities come under pressure sparked by the China fears as well as yields [...]
Small businesses suffer unprecedented cost assault in sign of more economic woe April 25, 2022 Swelling costs are eating away at small businesses’ margins in a sign that a key engine of the UK’s recovery is beginning to stall, reveals fresh research published today. Nearly nine in 10 small businesses have experienced an uptick in their operating costs, squeezing their room to combat what is expected to be a weaker [...]