US Federal Reserve presses on with interest rate hike amid banking chaos March 22, 2023 The US Federal Reserve today looked past the ongoing wobbles in the global banking system and hiked interest rates for the ninth time in a row, extending its aggressive fight against inflation. Chair Jerome Powell and the rest of the federal open market committee (FOMC) today bumped the world’s most important interest rate 25 basis [...]
FTSE 100 close: Inflation shock tames London index as investors brace for Fed decision March 22, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 nipped higher today despite investors betting the Bank of England will be forced to keep raising interest rates to tame higher than feared inflation. The capital’s premier index closed up 0.41 per cent at 7,566.84 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the [...]
Rishi Sunak’s Brexit deal passes despite 22 Tory MPs rebelling including Johnson, Patel, Truss and IDS March 22, 2023 MPs have voted in favour of regulations to implement the Stormont brake aspect of Rishi Sunak’s Windsor Framework Brexit deal by 515 votes to 29. The prime minister’s agreement with the EU on a revised plan for post-Brexit trade in Northern Ireland (NI) was backed by a majority of 486 MPs in the House of [...]
UK inflation leaps to 10.4 per cent smashing Bank of England and City forecasts March 22, 2023 UK inflation has surpassed forecasts and stayed in the double digits, in a sign the Bank of England will need to keep hiking interest rates to tame prices, official figures out today reveal. The rate of price increases jumped to 10.4 per cent in February, up from 10.1 per cent in January, according to the [...]
Pubs are go: Britain’s oldest brewer Shepherd Neame shrugs off strikes and inflation in eight per cent revenue rise March 22, 2023 Britain’s oldest brewer Shepherd Neame has said consumer spending in the wake of the costs of living crisis has “remained strong” as the group posts strong revenues for the 26 weeks to December 2022. The listed pubs group, which operates around London and the South East, posted revenues of £85.3m up 8.4 per cent from [...]
Credit Suisse and Silicon Valley Bank chaos are symptoms of fragile banking system March 21, 2023 City folk around in 2007 must have been getting very twitchy over the last week. Some of the market moves were reminiscent of the early stages of the financial crisis once people clocked on to just how bad banks had messed up. Credit Suisse tumbled more than 30 per cent at one point. Its peers [...]
Boris Johnson prepares for showdown with MPs over partygate fib claims as defence to be published March 20, 2023 Boris Johnson’s defence against claims he lied to Parliament over the partygate scandal could be published on Monday as he prepares for a showdown with MPs. The Privileges Committee is expected to publish the lengthy submission from Mr Johnson’s barrister Lord Pannick KC before the former prime minister gives evidence on Wednesday in a session [...]
Explainer: What’s an AT1 bond – and why are Credit Suisse’s now worthless? March 20, 2023 UBS’ rescue deal of Credit Suisse, which will see it buy its stricken Zurich rival at a discount £3bn price, has come with a surprise for holders of Credit Suisse’s AT1 bonds. These risky bonds – which had a nominal value of $17bn – are now precisely worthless. Unsurprisingly, holders of the bonds are less [...]
Russia takes its war with Ukraine to London’s High Court as battle begins over a soured $3bn bond deal March 16, 2023 The UK’s top court yesterday ruled the Ukrainian government should be given the opportunity to face the Kremlin in London’s High Court, in a more than $3bn dispute over a 2013 bond deal. The Supreme Court’s ruling is set to see the UK’s High Court become the new front for the continuing fight between Russia [...]
Jeremy Hunt tax hikes and weak economy to swipe £10k from Britons while wealthy reap pension rewards March 16, 2023 Britons are poised to miss out on £10,000 of income over the coming years after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt lifted taxes to their highest sustained level in history, experts have predicted. When combined with sluggish economic growth , the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has estimated that the tax take means real incomes will be at [...]