UK recession still on the cards after aggressive Bank of England interest rate hikes March 27, 2023 A recession is still on the cards in the UK despite the economy performing much better than experts predicted just a few months ago, new forecasts out today project. Higher interest rates and households responding to the cost of living crunch gripping their finances by trimming spending is tipped to push GDP 0.3 per cent [...]
UK poised to have officially dodged recession last year as outlook brightens March 26, 2023 Britain is poised to have officially swerved a recession last year, the country’s statistics agency is expected to confirm this week. New final numbers outlining economic growth in the final three months of 2022 are likely to hold steady at zero per cent, meaning the UK narrowly dodged the official recession definition of two consecutive [...]
Bank of England hikes interest rates for eleventh time in a row to post financial crisis high of 4.25 per cent March 23, 2023 The Bank of England today hiked interest rates for the eleventh time in a row to a post-financial crisis of 4.25 per cent as it continues to lead the fight against the worst UK inflation crisis in four decades. Governor Andrew Bailey and his team of rate setters bumped borrowing costs 25 basis points higher, [...]
Why HAVE savers missed out on interest rate rises? MPs accuse banks of ‘profiting’ in failing to pass on savings hike March 22, 2023 MPs suggested banks were earning “disproportionate profits” by failing to pass on interest rates rises to savings accounts. In a letter to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Treasury Committee also asked whether banks were earning “disproportionate profits” by “increasing rates on mortgages far quicker than rates on savings products”. Earlier this month, the chair [...]
UK house prices: Growth down while rents soar by their highest in seven years March 22, 2023 Private rent paid by tenants in the UK rose 4.7 per cent in the 12 months to February 2023, up from 4.4 per cent in the 12 months to January 2023, according to the Office for National Statistics which also reported that house prices increased 6.3 per cent in the same period. Annual private rent [...]
Exclusive: Renters face being pushed out of London as landlords struggle to cope with ‘huge’ mortgage hikes, adviser warns March 20, 2023 Landlords in London and the south east are facing a 125 per cent increase in monthly mortgage payments, or £574 on average, according to research exclusively shared with City A.M. The Bank of England’s decision to raise interest rates 11 times over the last 15 months has seen mortgage costs spiral for mortgage borrowers. Earlier [...]
Spring Budget 2023 – as it happened: Childcare costs, Brexit pub guarantee and plan for ’12 Canary Wharfs’ March 15, 2023 As Jeremy Hunt unveils his first full Spring Budget, we bring you all the latest news, opinion, analysis and reaction. Budget day – Live feed Support for parents with young children: Jeremy Hunt announced a series of reforms, starting “with the supply of childcare.” “We have seen a significant decline in childminders over recent years [...]
London house prices fall but still almost double national average according to Halifax property index March 7, 2023 London house prices have fallen by almost one per cent from January, but property in the capital still costs £240,000 more than the national average. Halifax’s latest house price index for February showed the rate of annual national growth slowed across the UK, with the average property now sitting at £285,476. In the capital however, [...]
The financial crisis lurking in the shadows: Why regulators must now turn their attention to shadow banking March 6, 2023 Some would argue that predicting the next financial crisis is a near impossible task. But Nobel-prize winning economist Douglas Diamond said in October last year: “The last [financial crisis] started in the banks, it stayed in the banks. This one’s going to start in the shadow banks and the companies.” Shadow banking encompasses a variety [...]
Instead of talking our economy down, we should commend its resilience over the past year March 3, 2023 If the UK economy managed to avoid two successive quarters of GDP decline last year, it will fight as hard this year. It will also win more easily, writes Savvas Savouri