UK top pubs, restaurants and cafes ranked: Costa, Greggs and Wetherspoon top consumer opinion poll of high street brands with the best reputation April 20, 2018 Public perception is rising for a clutch of major high street food and drink brands, a new report has revealed. Costa, Greggs and JD Wetherspoon have gained the most momentum when it comes to consumer attitudes, data research company CGA said. The report ranks operators by how fast they are building their brand awareness, positive [...]
Inflation holds steady in spite of rise in fuel prices June 13, 2018 Inflation held steady in May thanks to rising fuel prices, but falling price pressure in other parts of the basket used to measure inflation may give the Bank of England pause as it looks to hike interest rates. Consumer price index (CPI) inflation rose to an annual rate of 2.4 per cent in May, unchanged [...]
Saga shakes up travel operations and axes insurance broking chief January 4, 2018 Saga today announced a boardroom shake-up, restructuring travel operations hit by Britain's biggest airline failure. Tour operations and cruises are to be combined and run by new Saga travel chief executive Robin Shaw. Jeanette Linfoot, previously the managing director of tour operations, left at the end of December. Shaw was previously the head of Saga's [...]
No wonder the pound is rising – 2018 could finally be the year that hawks get their way and push up interest rates February 27, 2018 The start of next week will mark nine years since the Bank of England slashed interest rates to an historic low of 0.5 per cent and unleashed its first round of quantitative easing, an unprecedented measure designed to counteract a deep recession triggered by the financial crisis. Ever since, hawks and doves have squabbled over [...]
The beauty parade for the next Bank of England Governor has begun January 11, 2018 Not that long ago this column mentioned the fact that speculation over who would succeed Mark Carney as Governor of the Bank of England would begin in earnest this year. Just a few short weeks later and it has already begun. On Tuesday Reuters speculated as to who the possible successors to Mr Carney might [...]
Deputy governor of the Bank of England Ben Broadbent says more rate rises are on the way November 3, 2017 Deputy governor of the Bank of England said that more rate rises are on the cards. The bank increased its base rate for the first time in 10 years yesterday and upgraded its forecast for UK GDP in 2017. Read more: The pound is still wobbly after yesterday’s interest rate hike Broadbent has said this [...]
Bank of England needs more diversity Treasury Select Committee head Nicky Morgan tells chancellor October 20, 2017 The Bank of England needs to improve “diversity at the most senior levels”, according to a letter written today to the chancellor by the influential head of the Treasury Select Committee, Nicky Morgan. Morgan said: “The Treasury must make all efforts to encourage as diverse range of candidates for the Bank’s policy committees as possible.” [...]
UK businesses, ignore Brexit and focus on becoming an exporter to global markets August 24, 2018 Beyond the political posturing and seemingly endless uncertainty, business leaders must make sense of Brexit and plot a course that protects revenues, employees, and even boosts performance. But how, in the uncertainty-shrouded fog where competing whispers incessantly predict both a golden future and recession, can this be done? Although many feel that the UK is [...]
Former BoE deputy governor Charlotte Hogg appointed as chief executive of Visa Europe September 7, 2017 Charlotte Hogg, who was forced to resign as the deputy governor at the Bank of England (BoE) earlier this year, has been appointed the chief executive of Visa Europe. Hogg left the BoE in March after a four-year career there following criticism over her failure to declare the potential conflict of interest of her brother’s [...]
Bank of England raises interest rates for the first time in a decade November 2, 2017 The Bank of England’s top economists today voted to raise its key interest rate, bringing to an end an extraordinary 10-year period without a hike despite internal dissent about its decision. Seven members of the rate-setting monetary policy committee (MPC), including governor Mark Carney, voted in favour of a 0.25 percentage point hike in bank [...]