Warning of ‘marked slowdown’ in mortgage lending from Santander UK chief as bank’s profit creeps up two per cent February 2, 2023 Santander UK’s net mortgage lending climbed higher in 2022, helping to boost profits, but its CEO warned that the bank would have to navigate “a marked slowdown” in mortgage lending in 2023. The Spanish bank’s net mortgage lending increased to £9.8bn from £7.5bn last year helping pretax profit creep up two per cent. CEO Mark [...]
Fibre advancing ‘like fury’ but will £5bn infrastructure spend turn round BT’s share price woes? February 2, 2023 BT reported a solid third quarter of the year in a statement to markets this morning, with boss Philip Jansen hailing a “transforming” firm. Revenue in the three quarters to the end of December crept up to £15.6bn, a small fall on last year which the firm put down to inflationary headwinds and legacy product [...]
The Bank of England appears to have learnt from earlier mistakes February 2, 2023 The Bank of England made a host of missteps in the early parts of the inflation spike. It has become more boring - and more effective - since.
Sunak needs to stop fighting over tax and spend and overhaul the system February 2, 2023 The calls for tax cuts are ceaseless, even in the face of evidence they won’t help us to growth, Rishi Sunak needs to stop arguing over whether or not we can afford them, and start stripping back taxation as a whole, writes Will Cooling
Christmas sales were a moment of reprieve as high streets play whac-a-mole February 2, 2023 Even the biggest retailers were severely dented by the pandemic, strikes, inflation and rising energy costs. It might be a game of whac-a-mole, but the high street is ready for another year, writes Richard Curry.
Federal Reserve hikes rates 25 basis points in sign Powell is nearing end of inflation fight February 1, 2023 The US Federal Reserve has climbed down to the lowest interest rate hike in nearly a year in a sign the world’s most influential central bank is nearing the end of its aggressive campaign to tame a historic inflation surge. Fed chair Jerome Powell and the rest of the federal open market committee (FOMC) backed [...]
London restaurants: Outlook ‘bleak’ as insolvencies mount across the industry February 1, 2023 London restaurateurs have described the outlook for the sector as ‘bleak’ after research has revealed that the number of hospitality businesses going bust has jumped by 65 per cent in the last year. The figures, which were released by accountancy firm Price Bailey, show that 1,880 British restaurant businesses became insolvent in 2022, compared to [...]
H&M axes four UK stores outside London as retailer warned it needs to ‘raise its game’ to differentiate from rival fashion chains February 1, 2023 H&M has announced plans to shutter four of its stores across the UK due to a “rapid change” in customer behaviour. None of the fashion retailers’ London sites have been impacted by the move, however stores in Hartlepool, Maidenhead, Newport in Isle of Wight and Burton are set to close. A spokesperson for H&M UK [...]
FCA must increase staff pay or it risks failing the public, Unite says February 1, 2023 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) needs to offer its staff a better pay package or it risks becoming unable to deliver in the public interest, union Unite said. The FCA, which regulates the conduct of around 50,000 financial services businesses, has been in dispute with its workers over pay and conditions. It said it told [...]
German inflation bungle takes shine off euro figures as ECB remains committed to aggressive rate hikes February 1, 2023 Inflation in the eurozone fell again last month but experts have warned the drop will not convince the European Central Bank (ECB) to stop hiking interest rates aggressively. The rate of price increases among the group of 19 countries using the euro dropped to 8.5 per cent annually, down from 9.2 per cent, according to [...]