Bank of England’s Broadbent urges markets to curb rate expectations October 20, 2022 One of the Bank of England’s top officials has today warned markets not to get carried away with the number of rate rises coming down the line. Ben Broadbent, a member of the monetary policy committee (MPC) and a deputy governor at the Bank, said Threadneedle Street’s internal calculations worked out the response to the [...]
Travis Perkins has strong sales growth in Q3 but prepares to ‘tightly manage’ cost pressures October 20, 2022 The UK’s largest distributor of building materials Travis Perkins had strong sales growth in the third quarter of the year, but is preparing to weather an inflationary winter. The firm had sales growth of 10.7 per cent while its merchandising business had 11.5 per cent, outperforming the individual market. The company’s arm which deals with [...]
Truss won’t be the first or the last to U-turn, but she taught us how not to do it October 20, 2022 It has been less than four weeks since the disastrous mini-budget, followed by a series of screeching U-turns in government policy. It’s made for sickeningly compelling viewing, partly because most of us have, at times, experienced our own shocking about-turns and forced mea culpas. We can all relate. And the next 12 months look likely [...]
Food price hikes will become baked in if we can’t choose a fiscal policy and stick with it October 20, 2022 Yesterday marked a grim milestone. Food and drink price inflation hit its highest recorded level since the 1980s. In the year to September, it has jumped to 14.6 per cent and the rise in food prices has helped push overall inflation over 10 per cent. What’s more, it hasn’t peaked yet – prices will certainly [...]
BHP trumps rivals with robust iron ore production October 19, 2022 BHP has reported a robust increase in production across the board, navigating the challenging headwinds of Chinese lockdowns.
Analysis: This shapeshifting inflation surge ain’t over yet October 19, 2022 Today’s inflation figures may have caused a few chairs to be flung at walls in the Bank of England. Prices are up 10.1 per cent over the year to September, above the City’s expectations and up from August. They were in line with the Bank’s forecasts though, a genuine rarity. Remember, the central bank has [...]
Bank of England to launch record rate rise to step up fight against 40-year high inflation October 19, 2022 The Bank of England will have to hike interest rates by a record whole percentage point at its meeting on 3 November, City economists are betting today after inflation returned to a 40 year high of 10.1 per cent last month. Prices are still rising sharply despite the Bank already lifting borrowing costs seven times [...]
Foreign secretary: PM Liz Truss made mistakes but has also learnt lessons October 19, 2022 Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has come out fighting for Liz Truss, saying she has “learnt lessons” and had the “humility to make changes.” Speaking on Sky News this morning, he batted down talk of a new prime minister amid speculation backbenchers are plotting behind the scenes. “What I’m far from convinced by is that going [...]
Small business confidence tumbles on swelling costs and weaker demand October 19, 2022 Intensifying cost pressures and a slowdown in consumer spending as a result of cost of living crunch squeezing Brits has led to a collapse in confidence among small firms, a new survey out today shows. Net confidence plummeted to minus 35.9 in the three months to October, down by 11.2 points over the last quarter, [...]
US prepares to sell from emergency reserves to dampen oil prices October 18, 2022 The White House is preparing to offload oil from its strategic reserves in a late bid to dampen fuel prices and ease the cost of living.