Kwarteng stung: Mini budget chancellor offered to set up meeting between fake firm and Boris Johnson for ‘£10k’ March 27, 2023 Former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng offered to facilitate setting up a meeting between a fake foreign firm and former prime minister Boris Johnson during a sting interview. Mr Kwarteng was caught up in a hoax organised by campaign group Led By Donkeys in which he was approached about providing political advice to a bogus company it [...]
It’s all about quality: Fixing the Square Mile’s shopping district March 27, 2023 As Oxford Street struggles to fill vacant spaces on its high street, many in the retail sector are also questioning what the future holds for the Square Mile’s shopping scene. At One New Change, the City’s prime shopping centre, which was launched in 2010 to rival London’s West End, there are about 10 vacant lots, [...]
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 household debt swells past £2 trillion for first time ever March 27, 2023 Family debt has swelled past £2 trillion for the first time ever in a sign Brits are whipping out their credit cards to fund spending amid the cost of living crunch, new research out today reveals. Household debt is now nearly the same size as the entire UK economy (£2.2 trillion) and has been pushed [...]
UK suffering worst living standards squeeze on record, OBR boss warns March 26, 2023 Brits’ spending power won’t recover to pre-pandemic levels for another half decade, the boss of the UK’s economic watchdog has warned. The UK is experiencing the “biggest squeeze on living standards we’ve faced in this country on record”, Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) chairman Richard Hughes said today. His stark warning came after the regulator’s [...]
London loves Thursday! 3.3m use Tube in return to (co-working) office – and the pub March 24, 2023 Thursday is now the most popular day for London workers to head into the office – with over 3.3m jumping on the tube to join colleagues for after work drinks. According to the latest ridership from TFL and WeWork shared exclusively with City A.M, Thursday is now the most popular weekday to travel on the [...]
FTSE 100 close: London index falls as investors react to mixed retail figures, JD Wetherspoon and Tui March 24, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 index closed 1.31 per cent lower today as investors failed to be enthused by data showing the UK’s economy is faring better than expected following the Bank of England’s (BoE’s) decision to hike interest for the eleventh time in a row. The capital’s premier index fell 1.05 per cent to 7,424.71 points [...]
Families grow increasingly confident about UK dodging recession March 24, 2023 Families are increasingly confident the UK will dodge a recession this year in another sign the economy is performing better than feared than at the turn of the year, a closely watched survey out today indicates. UK consumer confidence jumped in March for the second month in a row, albeit up to a historically low [...]
FTSE 100 close: London index slips after of Bank of England interest rate hike March 23, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 slipped lower today after the Bank of England’s hiked interest rates for the eleventh time in a row. The capital’s premier index dropped 0.89 per cent to just under 7,500 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, lost 0.15 per [...]
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, [...]