‘Middle-class stampede’ for equity release as wealthy homeowners flock to lifetime mortgages November 12, 2021 The average property value of a lifetime mortgage customer has passed the half a million pound mark for the first time as the industry continues to make waves with financial advisers and wealthier customers, according to new data shared with City A.M. today. The steep rise in property prices over the past year cannot entirely [...]
‘Acute’ staff shortages and rising energy bills force most businesses to hike their prices November 12, 2021 Amid ‘acute’ staff shortages and the rising cost of fuel and energy, most businesses are increasing their prices. A survey of 1,000 firms showed that four out of five increased the price of their goods or services in the past year. The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said its study indicated that nine out of [...]
Credit management veteran reflects on the pandemic: ‘Have you had a good crisis?’ November 11, 2021 Colin Storrar, the CEO of Lowell, one of the UK’s largest credit management companies, returns my question with a question, or rather a series of questions, when asked about his priorities since the first national lockdown was announced. “How have you treated your people this crisis? Have you thought about their work environment? Have you [...]
Rishi Sunak’s approval rating sinks, says new polling November 10, 2021 Rishi Sunak’s approval rating has dropped by 26 points since March as almost half the country think his latest Budget will be bad for them personally, according to new polling. A poll out today from Ipsos MORI showed Sunak has an approval rating of +6, down from +32 in March, while 44 per cent of [...]
The metaversal evolution will not be centralised November 10, 2021 The metaverse creates efficiencies, growth, and cost reductions orders of magnitude above and beyond that of physical space, explains Dr Kacher.
Climate change: How insurance and analytics can help to increase global resilience November 9, 2021 Climate change is set to touch every part of our lives – from the food we eat to how we heat our homes. But it’s also going to have a transformative effect on businesses, perhaps no more so than within the insurance industry. With climate change creating more extreme weather events, the world is becoming [...]
Greater Manchester launches bid to become easiest place in the UK to be a zero carbon business November 8, 2021 The Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership (GM LEP) alongside an alliance of businesses and partner organisations has launched Bee Net Zero – an ambitious commitment to making the city-region the easiest place in the UK to become a green business. Greater Manchester’s thousands of businesses are urged to start their own green journey at BeeNetZero.com, [...]
Bank of England leaves rates at record low despite expecting persistent inflation spike November 4, 2021 The Bank of England today decided to scupper a flurry of bets on interest rate hikes and leave them unchanged at a record low. Despite mounting speculation from financial markets, economists and experts, the Old Lady left interest rates at 0.1 per cent and will see through the final leg of its QE programme. The [...]
Sunak comes out fighting in defence of tax hikes and spending spree November 1, 2021 Tory Chancellor Rishi Sunak has defended his decision to swell the tax burden to its highest level in decades. Responding to a grilling from fellow MPs on the Treasury Committee, Sunak said last week’s bumper budget spending spree was designed to deliver on a “bunch of commitments” the government promised to achieve. The Chancellor’s decision [...]
Five charts which explain what is going on with inflation November 1, 2021 “Output gap”, “bottlenecks”, “core inflation”, “base effects”, “second-round effects” “labour participation rate”. These are some of the key industry terms essential to understanding what’s going on with inflation. Soaring job vacancies reflect the strong economic recovery of the world’s major economies, as Covid-19 induced restrictions have been gradually eased. Shortages of materials, energy and transport [...]