UK economy stumbles behind Euro peers as risk of recession gathers pace January 24, 2023 The UK economy is falling further behind its international rivals and experts, according to a closely watched survey. The survey by economists has revealed Britain’s services industry, which generates about £2 in every £3 in the country, is shrinking at the fastest pace in two years. S&P Global and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and [...]
UK borrowing hits December record of £27.4bn piling pressure on Hunt ahead of March budget January 24, 2023 UK borrowing in December hit its highest total in 30 years driven upwards by the government’s debt interest bill soaring due to raging inflation, official figures out today show. The government took on £27.4bn of debt last month, the largest amount since records began in 1993, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The [...]
The Notebook: Victoria Scholar on Chinese New Year, air fares and edible economics January 24, 2023 The notebook is where interesting people say interesting things. Today it’s Victoria Scholar, Head of Investment at Interactive Investor, on Chinese New Year, why air fares are on the increase and what we can learn about economics from food As the Chinese New Year begins, investors are increasingly turning their attention back to markets in [...]
Yule be happy: Christmas trading powers Primark owner’s rising revenues January 24, 2023 Food processing giant and Primark owner Associated British Foods has posted a bullish trading update, unveiling an upturn in revenues.
A Conservative manifesto, adjusted to UK inflation January 24, 2023 As prices keep going up, Elena Siniscalco looks at what happens to the Conservative manifesto pledges from 2019 when we adjust them in line with inflation Inflation is at 10.5 per cent in the UK. This isolated number can feel quite difficult to quantify, but we see it everywhere around us – in the price [...]
Why is the FTSE 100 nearing a record high with a recession looming? It ain’t the economy, stupid January 24, 2023 The FTSE 100 is becoming one massive hedge fund. That’s why it’s doing so well when all the doomsters have warned the UK is headed for a long, albeit shallow, recession over the next year. Of course, the stock market isn’t the economy. How many high street coffee shop owners do you know that worry [...]
A recession will end the era of free money and tip the scales back to the Big Banks January 24, 2023 The fintech industry and its founder has grown up in an era of free money and this is their first taste of a recession, it might give big traditional banks their dominance back, writes Nick Parminter The prevailing narrative in the corporate innovation bull market of the last 12 years was that “you can’t cut [...]
Goldman Sachs to slash underperforming £48bn investment book amid profit crunch January 23, 2023 Wall Street titan Goldman Sachs could shift billions of dollars worth of underperforming private equity and real estate investments that have dogged its finances, its top money manager hinted today. In an interview with Reuters, Julian Salisbury, chief investment office of asset and wealth management at the firm, said the bank will “see a meaningful [...]
Insurers falling short in modelling cyber and natural catastrophe risks, Bank of England warns January 23, 2023 The UK’s insurance regulator has called on insurers to bolster their cyber and natural catastrophe risk modelling capabilities in preparation for a period of “high volatility and uncertainty”. In a letter sent to UK insurance companies today, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), which sits within the Bank of England, warned insurers models are continuing to [...]
Top Gun: Maverick and pricier tickets help Everyman cinemas post 75 per cent boom in earnings January 23, 2023 Blockbuster movie Top Gun: Maverick helped boost Everyman Media’s revenues by 62 per cent as Brits continue to embrace cinema going as an affordable luxury. The company, which has 14 of its 38 cinemas in greater London, announced its annual update to December, reporting revenue of £79.7m which is up from the previous covid-impacted year [...]