Bank of England delivers largest rate hike since 1989 and signals more to come November 3, 2022 The Bank of England today hiked interest rates by the largest amount since 1989 and signalled more rises are coming. The Bank’s rate setting committee voted unanimously to lift borrowing costs 75 basis points to three per cent, the highest level since 2008 and the eighth rise in a row. The pound shed more than [...]
Homeware retailers ‘draw short straw’ in economic crunch as Made.com nears collapse October 31, 2022 Homeware retailers are facing a turbulent 2023 as mounting operational costs and hesitant consumer sentiment piles the pressure on the sector. It comes as Made.com was still teetering on the brink of collapse on Monday after customers have pulled back from spending on pricier items like furniture. Last week, the ailing sofa seller said it [...]
Week ahead: Bank of England to rock markets with 75bps rate hike October 30, 2022 Markets are preparing for a steep rate hike by the Bank of England on Thursday, but not as bad as first feared after former prime minister Liz Truss’s tax cutting mini-budget last month. London’s premier FTSE 100 index posted a decent performance last week, adding 1.12 per cent to close at 7,047.67 points, while the [...]
Government eyes bank surcharge U-turn despite Lloyds profits tumbling October 27, 2022 Britain’s biggest mortgage lender, Lloyds Bank, has set aside hundreds of millions of pounds in preparation for a surge in loan defaults caused by the rising cost of living and higher interest rates squeezing household budgets. The lender today said it had banked £668m over the three months to September to absorb souring loans, primarily [...]
UK banks return to amassing default reserves amid inflation and mortgage crunch October 26, 2022 Barclays said profits had jumped six per cent in the third quarter of the year as it became the latest lender to see performance buoyed by rising interest rates.
Property lawyers should prepare for 2008-style crash, regulator says October 24, 2022 Property law firms should ready themselves for a “significant fall” in work as a result of a downturn in the UK’s real estate sector, the industry regulator has said. The Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC), which regulates conveyancers and property solicitors, said firms should prepare for a reversal of the past decade’s boom as economic [...]
Government puts bank windfall tax on table to help plug fiscal hole October 19, 2022 The government has put a windfall tax on the UK’s largest banks on the table, sending their shares plummeting today. London-listed Lloyds Bank, which is Britain’s biggest mortgage lender, plunged to the bottom of the FTSE 100 index today, shedding 4.11 per cent. Previously state-owned NatWest trailed closely behind on the biggest losers’ table, dropping [...]
Truss says she’s ‘committed’ to state pension triple lock October 19, 2022 Liz Truss has said she is “committed” to increasing the state pension by the rate of inflation, after Number 10 just yesterday refused to back the triple lock. Truss said during Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) that “I am completely committed to the triple lock and so is the chancellor”. Truss’ spokesperson and Jeremy Hunt both refused [...]
UK borrowing costs tumble after Hunt shreds Truss’s mini budget October 17, 2022 UK borrowing costs scaled lower today after new chancellor Jeremy Hunt ripped up prime minister Liz Truss’s tax cutting mini budget. The yield on the 30-year UK gilt, which has suffered heavy selling since the mini budget last month, fell around 40 basis points to 4.33 per cent. Rates on the 2-year and 10-year UK [...]
Hunt ditches ‘almost all’ of Truss’ tax cuts as chancellor bins mini-Budget October 17, 2022 Jeremy Hunt has binned “almost all” of Liz Truss’ mini-Budget, while also announcing that the UK’s energy bills freeze will only be universal until April. The new chancellor confirmed more of Truss’ tax cuts have now been overturned – including the planned cut to the basic rate of Income Tax – in a bid to [...]