Turn around for Natwest as bank returns to profitability February 18, 2022 Natwest has returned to profitability after suffering heavy losses in 2020, with results boosted by strong savings and lending growth.
January retail sales boosted as cost of living crisis looms February 18, 2022 January retail sales volumes lifted 1.9 per cent last month while retailers prepare for consumers to limit spending as bills soar. According to the latest retail data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), sales volumes marked the largest monthly increase since April 2021 when non-essential retailing reopened. An increase came after a four per [...]
The spectre of entrenched inflation will soon hit loss-making start-ups hard February 18, 2022 Larry Summers was Treasury Secretary to Bill Clinton, Barack Obama’s Director of the National Economic Council, and President of Harvard University. When he offers an economic prediction, therefore, he is worth listening to. A recent one was sobering. Summers believes we are entering a period of “higher entrenched inflation”. Make no mistake: inflation is a [...]
We must end our dependency on Russia’s gas and embrace renewable opportunities February 18, 2022 Our energy bills are up by 54 per cent this year. It’s not just gas – the cost of fuel, food, and furniture is ticking up too. The Bank of England now expects inflation to surge past 7 per cent by the end of this year. That’s going to price many of us out of [...]
London markets mixed as investors mull next steps in Russia-Ukraine saga February 17, 2022 London markets plummeted today as investors were spooked by a seeming false alarm on a de-escalation in the Russia-Ukraine saga. The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index dropped 0.87 per cent to 7,537.37 points, while the domestically-focused FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, plunged 1.24 per cent to [...]
Slap up Valentines Day meals boosts UK diner volumes February 17, 2022 Couples treating themselves to a slap up Valentines Day meal boosted the volume of diners in the UK over the last week, revealed official figures released today. The number of restaurant goers in Britain surged 17 percentage points in just a week and is now nearly a third above its pre-pandemic level, according to the [...]
Entrenched supply crunch stoking inflation risks throttling global economy, IMF warns February 17, 2022 Supply chain breakdowns stoking inflation are inflicting “harm” on the global recovery from the Covid-19 crisis, the world’s economic watchdog warned today. Swelling costs fuelled by choking supply bottlenecks pose a serious risk to derailing the economic rebound by cutting households’ spending power, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned. Central banks launching a rapid [...]
Rising Inflation and Supply Chain Challenges: Will EMEA M&A Deals Be at Risk in 2022? February 17, 2022 Although 2021 set record value and volume levels for M&A both globally and in EMEA, supply chain issues were the top reasons M&A deals fell apart in 2021, according to a new survey of 200 UK-based dealmakers by Datasite. Every industry impacted Close to two-thirds (64%) of UK dealmakers said inflation affected a deal on [...]
Virgin Media O2 customers set to face hefty phone bill hike February 17, 2022 Phone bills for Virgin Media and O2 customers are set to rocket as the telecom giants feels the inflation sting. All Virgin Mobile customers will face a 11.7 per cent rise – the 7.8 per cent current rate of inflation as measured by the Retail Prices Index (RPI) plus 3.9 per cent. Meanwhile, only O2 [...]
Nearly half of Brits hunt for a new job as eyes fall on ‘inflation-busting’ pay rises February 17, 2022 Nearly half of all Brits have been hunting for a new job in the past three months, according to data City A.M. can share today. While around a third have mulled quitting their current position, research by Ipsos has revealed. The temptation to hand in a resignation letter is stronger among younger workers, aged between [...]