Summer deals help bump retail sales as growth falls at slowest rate in a year July 21, 2023 Retail sales grew by 0.7 per cent in June 2023 with increases across all the main sectors, as warmer weather and a greater selection increased consumer spending. During the month, non-food stores sales volumes rose slightly by 1.0 per cent in June 2023, following a fall of 0.5 per cent in May 2023, according to [...]
Brits finally sober up to high inflation and interest rate hikes as confidence slides July 21, 2023 Brits have finally sobered up to the damaging impact high inflation and the Bank of England’s interest rate hikes to tame it is having on their finances, a closely watched survey out today shows. Consumer confidence has dropped for the first time since January, down six points to minus 30 in July, according to research [...]
Banks to avoid surge in delinquency even as average interest rate on credit card hits highest level this millennium July 19, 2023 The average rate of interest on UK credit cards hit their highest level in nearly 30 years last month, but experts suggested there would not be a surge in delinquencies. According to Bank of England data, the average rate of interest on a credit card surpassed 23 per cent in June for the first time [...]
Pound slumps as City cuts Bank of England interest rate bets after shock inflation fall July 19, 2023 Pound sterling today has tumbled sharply in response to markets reining in their expectations for further interest rate hikes from the Bank of England. Britain’s currency shed nearly one per cent against the US dollar, its largest fall in months, to buy $1.29. It was down a similar amount against the euro at €1.15. The [...]
Bank of England interest rate hikes trigger record £2.1 trillion UK wealth collapse, report claims July 17, 2023 The Bank of England has engineered the largest contraction in UK household wealth on record by jacking up interest rates in response to scorching inflation, a new report out today has claimed. Asset values have collapsed by £2.1 trillion since early 2021, mainly driven by a sharp fall in bond prices in response to UK [...]
FTSE finance chiefs: Rates, inflation and growth squeeze C-suite confidence July 17, 2023 Ratcheting up interest rate expectations and intense fears about sticky inflation has hobbled FTSE finance chiefs’ optimism, a closely watched survey out today shows. Confidence among chief financial officers (CFO) of FTSE-listed companies has tumbled over the last quarter, according to consultancy Deloitte. Optimism among money managers at Britain’s largest businesses has eroded to net [...]
Sunak accepts six per cent public sector pay rises but warns it ‘will cost all of you as taxpayers’ July 13, 2023 Government has accepted recommendations for millions of public sector workers to receive pay rises of six per cent or more, Rishi Sunak has announced. The prime minister said today reports from independent pay bodies calling for public sector pay rises of between five and 6.5 per cent for millions of medics, teachers and civil servants [...]
Bank of England says UK’s big banks passed stress test and are ‘resilient’ to rising rates July 12, 2023 The UK’s largest lenders passed the Bank of England’s stress tests with flying colours, even as concerns grow around the health of the mortgage market. In its latest stress test, the Bank of England concluded that banks were “resilient”, enabling them to withstand persistently higher inflation and a deep global recession. “The UK banking system [...]
UK families set for another year of cost of living crisis and £65bn hit to finances July 12, 2023 UK families are poised to be gripped by the cost of living crisis for nearly another whole year due to the Bank of England keeping interest rates higher for longer in a bid to vanquish inflation, a new report out today claims. Household finances will be corroded by rising living costs and elevated rates until [...]
Wall Street falls after hot jobs data raises threat of high rates July 7, 2023 Stocks fell on Thursday after reports suggested the US jobs market remains much more resilient than expected. The S&P 500 lost 35.23, or 0.8 per cent , to 4,411.59. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 366.38, or 1.1 per cent , to 33,922.26, and the Nasdaq composite gave up 112.61, or 0.8 per cent , [...]