Indignant brokers fiercely dismiss Martin Lewis’ notion many mortgages are ‘a ticking time bomb’ June 19, 2022 The well-known personal finance guru Martin Lewis recently warned that mortgages are a “ticking time bomb” for homeowners, as he said Brits should lock in cheap mortgage rates soon before monthly payments become unaffordable. Lewis’ comments come as the cost of living for most Brits is climbing fast, with energy bills going up by an [...]
Money Spotlight: The reasons your real pay is dropping like never before June 19, 2022 Britons saw their basic pay fall at the fastest pace on record in April due to soaring prices. More pain is in store for UK households as inflation is set to hit further eye-watering peaks later this year. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said yesterday that regular wages excluding bonuses plunged by 4.5 per [...]
Central banks face tough journey to ‘Goldilocks’ policy setting June 19, 2022 Goldilocks found the perfect bowl of porridge through trial and error. The US Federal Reserve, Bank of England and the rest of the central banking elite are following a similar rationale right now. They are grasping for that “just-right” policy setting which allows an economy to reach its full potential without knowing what that setting [...]
Ofgem turns up the heat on UK Energy Incubator Hub amid industry crackdown June 18, 2022 Ofgem has demanded troubled supplier UK Energy Incubator Hub hand over information on financial stress testing and management control.
Bank of England hikes rates for fifth time in a row and warns of 11 per cent inflation surge June 16, 2022 The Bank of England today hiked interest rates for the fifth time in a row for the first time since it was given control of monetary policy a quarter of a century ago as it pushes to cool the highest rise in living costs for a generation. A majority of the Bank’s nine rate setters, [...]
Use windfall tax to improve energy efficiency of British homes, argues climate charity Ashden June 16, 2022 The government should funnel revenues from the windfall tax into making the UK's housing stock more energy efficient, says Ashden.
Q&A: Are we heading towards a commodity super-cycle? June 15, 2022 Commodities have achieved strong price gains recently, prompting speculation that we could be in the early stages of a so-called super-cycle; a sustained period of growing demand exceeding supply. Global commodity prices have moved higher in the past few months, partly due to geopolitical issues such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A mismatch of demand [...]
Warnings of a profit crisis for retailers as margins shrink in the past decade June 14, 2022 Retail profit margins will plunge to 5.1 per cent in 2022, the lowest level in a decade. Excluding the initial impact of the Covid 19 pandemic and related shop closures, profit margins will drop to the lowest level in a decade, down from 8.3 per cent in 2021. Some 57 per cent of UK consumers [...]
Bellway and Crest Nicholson shares soar as record property prices boost housebuilders June 14, 2022 Shares in Bellway and Crest Nicholson have risen this afternoon, following upbeat trading updates which signal that record house prices are filling the pockets of housebuilders. Developer Bellway has seen its sales reservations continue to climb past their pandemic heights, as demand shows little sign of slowing. The London-listed real estate firm, whose shares rose [...]
Brits’ living standards drop at quickest pace in over a decade June 14, 2022 Brits’ living standards are falling at the fastest pace in over a decade caused by historically high inflation outstripping pay, reveals official figures published today. Take home pay, accounting for price rises, dropped 2.2 per cent over the three months to April, the steepest fall since 2011, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). [...]