London’s top indexes fail to recover China Covid lockdown triggered losses April 26, 2022 London’s top indexes failed to recover from Monday’s bruising session as investors were still jittery due to concerns over the severity of the impact on the global economy from China sticking to its zero-Covid tolerance policy. London’s premier FTSE 100 index edged 0.08 per cent higher to 7,286.19 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 [...]
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 [...]
Historic inflation crunch swells UK interest bill to highest on record April 26, 2022 Historic high inflation has swelled the amount of money the UK government spends on servicing its debt to its largest level on record, reveals official figures released today. Britain’s debt interest bill for the year to March climbed 77 per cent over the last year to nearly £70bn in a further sign that Chancellor Rishi [...]
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 [...]
Prime Minister: Planned Welsh nuclear plant is ‘going to happen’, amid claims of a U-turn on stalled project April 26, 2022 Boris Johnson has insisted a new Welsh nuclear plant is “going to happen” and there will be a “couple of reactors” at the site. The prime minister made his comments about the Anglesey-based proposed site of Wylfa after accusations of a U-turn from Labour. Britain had reportedly been in talks with two American companies over [...]
1 Minute Market Rundown – 26th April 2022 April 26, 2022 Risk Stages a Comeback into the US CloseCrypto ReboundsSterling and Euro Continue to Look Vulnerable As you finished work yesterday you would have been forgiven for expecting risk markets to remain offered following what could only be described as a horrid day for markets. China’s ‘zero covid’ strategy as well as concerns over inflation weighed [...]
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 [...]
Santander pre-tax profit surges, as bank keeps watchful eye on soaring inflation April 26, 2022 Santander’s pre-tax profit has surged this quarter, despite the bank having to keep a watchful eye on soaring inflation. Profit from continuing operations before tax climbed more than 180 per cent to £495m in the three months to 31 March. However, with the looming risks of higher inflation, credit impairment charges came in at £52m, [...]
Elementis to review Chromium business amid efficiency drive April 26, 2022 Elementis has announced a strategic review of its Chromium business, opening up the possibility of a partial or full divestment from the metal.
Jupiter’s assets under management drops as client demand held back by high inflation and war April 26, 2022 British fund manager Jupiter Fund Management has seen its assets under management drop as geopolitical and inflationary pressures dampened client demand. In a trading update for the three months to 31 March, the firm said its assets under management closed the period at £55.3bn. This marked a £5.2bn drop from 31 December, fuelled by negative [...]