Week ahead: Inflation expectations numbers top City’s agenda December 4, 2022 Investors this week will be eyeing fresh data revealing how long households think high inflation will stick around in the UK for clues on the size of the Bank of England’s next interest rate rise. Last week, London’s premier FTSE 100 index climbed nearly one per cent to 7,556.23 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE [...]
Activists protest at British Museum and Scottish Power over rising energy bills December 3, 2022 Campaigners have staged protests in buildings including the British Museum and Scottish Power HQ against rising energy bills and “sky-rocketing” levels of fuel poverty, according to organisers. Members of the grass-roots movements Don’t Pay UK and Fuel Poverty Action said campaigners had bedded down with blankets, sleeping bags and hot water bottles in the foyer [...]
This Saturday is a chance to support the small businesses livening up our streets December 2, 2022 As fewer lights twinkle on Britain’s high streets, and individuals tighten their belts anticipating tough times ahead, small businesses are unsurprisingly fearful of what winter will bring. It’s not the backdrop we’d hope for to mark a decade of Small Business Saturday tomorrow, but it underlines the ongoing importance of supporting the UK’s 5.5 million [...]
European jobs market defies expectations as unemployment hits record low December 1, 2022 The European jobs market is defying expectations and holding up well despite experts expecting the bloc to tip into a tough recession, fresh figures out today show. The proportion of people unemployed in the 19 countries using the euro dropped to a record low 6.5 per cent in October from 6.6 per cent in September, [...]
Britain’s factories already in recession on ‘lethal cocktail’ of constraints December 1, 2022 Britain’s factories are already in recession sparked by demand receding as the country’s economy slumps, a closely watched survey out today reveals. S&P Global and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply’s (CIPS) purchasing managers’ index (PMI) inched higher to 46.5 last month from 46.2 in October. Despite the slight rise, the survey remained far [...]
Brexit adds £200 to Brits’ food bill, LSE study finds December 1, 2022 Brexit piled on an average of £210 extra to household food bills in two years, a fresh research paper has found. UK consumers paid a £5.8bn price tag in additional grocery costs, over the two years to the end of 2021, a study from the London School of Economics has found. As low-income households fork [...]
Eurozone inflation drops for first time since mid 2021 and may have ‘passed its peak’ November 30, 2022 Inflation in Europe fell for the first time since mid 2021 and may have passed its peak, fresh figures out today reveal. Prices across the 19 countries using the euro climbed 10 per cent over the year to November, down from a rate of 10.6 per cent in October, according to Eurostat. The drop was [...]
Ofgem pushes UK’s energy networks to go green without hiking bills November 30, 2022 Ofgem has confirmed a five-year investment package for the UK's electricity distribution network companies.
Mulberry feels the chill of recession as boss calls for VAT-free shopping to boost tourist sales November 30, 2022 High-end accessories retailer Mulberry is beginning to feel the effects of the cost of living crisis and recession in the UK, with sales and revenue slipping over the past six months. Sales at its London stores on Bond St and Regent St have been hit hard by affluent tourists from the US and the Arab [...]
Unaffordable Christmas meals loom as food inflation skyrockets to record 12.4 per cent November 30, 2022 It has emerged that food inflation has surged to 12.4 per cent to hit a new record amid predictions of dampened Christmas cheer and an “increasingly bleak” winter. Overall shop prices are now 7.4 per cent higher than last November, up from 6.6 per cent in October, to set another record since the British Retail [...]