British factories to launch fastest price hiking cycle on record March 22, 2022 British factories are preparing to launch the fastest price hiking cycle on record in a sign that inflation will surge even higher in the months ahead. A net balance of one in every eight UK manufacturers intend to raise prices, according to research by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). Products produced by factories are [...]
Home transactions up with market for pricey properties booming compared to pre-Covid levels March 22, 2022 Property transactions hit 96,250 last month, with big spenders buying more than before the pandemic. Transactions were up 15 per cent in February, compared to 83,450 in January, according to HMRC’s latest data on home transactions. Total sales for the first two months of the year stand at 179,900, some 18 per cent lower than [...]
1 Minute Market Rundown – 22nd March 2022 March 22, 2022 Russia – UkraineYields in focusPowell doubles down on hawkish stanceCrypto finds support You would have been forgiven for thinking central banks had reached peak hawkishness with a war ongoing in Europe. Jerome Powell has decided to make a laughing stock of us all. In a speech yesterday, Powell doubled down and completed a quite incredible [...]
Bitcoin and Ethereum lead the way as crypto markets turn green again March 22, 2022 The Bitcoin price is back above the $42k mark this morning, up three per cent over the past 24 hours and 10 per cent over the past week.
Sunak resists calls to scrap tax hikes despite lower than expected borrowing March 22, 2022 The government borrowed much less than expected over the year so far, indicating Chancellor Rishi Sunak has room for giveaways at tomorrow’s spring statement. The UK borrowed nearly £26bn less than the fiscal watchdog expected in the year to February, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said today, freeing up some room for the Chancellor [...]
Six strategies for your retirement income March 22, 2022 What surprises me most about my wife’s catering business is how much food is usually left over. I often ask: ‘Is there a better way to manage food costs?’. Her answer is always the same: ‘Better to have food left over than fall short.’ She has the exceptional ability to estimate how much each person [...]
What are the top FTSE 100 stocks to keep an eye on as the index begins to recover? March 22, 2022 Two years ago today, the FTSE 100 index closed at 5,190 points, after its 32% covid-19 pandemic-induced crash since 17 January 2020. But even as the Russia-Ukraine war rages, the UK’s premier index is back to 7,405 points, only slightly down from its 7,611 February high. And with oil, inflation, and interest rates rising, value investors are now [...]
Food industry: Government must act to tackle cost of living crisis as prices spike March 22, 2022 A food industry leader has called on the government to intervene to ease supply chain pressures on food firms as a cost of living crisis looms. Food and Drink Federation boss Karen Betts has urged ministers to act to help millions of households as they face rising food and energy prices this spring. Measures urged [...]
UK Government borrowing hits £138.4bn, less than half of amount last year March 22, 2022 Government borrowing stood at £13.1bn in February, down by £2.4bn from the same month a year earlier, according to official figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that despite the fall, this was the second highest February borrowing since monthly records began in 1993 and was still £12.8bn more than in February 2020, before [...]
UK markets: ‘Penny is dropping’ there will be no immediate ceasefire in Ukraine while focus shifts to Sunak’s ‘double whammy’ March 22, 2022 European markets underwent a subdued start to the week yesterday, with the FTSE100 outperforming on the back of another day of advances for crude oil prices, pushing the index to close at its highest level since 28 February. “The main reason for the move higher in oil prices was reports that the EU was considering [...]