Gas prices stay persistently high as prospect of bleak winter bills ratchets up July 5, 2023 Gas prices remain stubbornly high this summer, dashing hopes of lower energy bills over the winter when demand will be at is at its peak.
Jeremy Hunt handed £13bn windfall raising chance of tax cuts ahead of election April 25, 2023 Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has been handed a £13bn windfall from the UK public finances holding up better than expected, raising the chances of tax cuts ahead of the next general election, official figures out today reveal. Numbers from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) this morning showed the UK borrowed around £139bn in the year [...]
Happening today: All you need to know as the Bank of England set to raise rates again June 22, 2023 The Bank of England is poised to raise interest rates for the 13th time in a row after disappointing inflation figures showed price rises have not eased. The UK’s Consumer Prices Index (CPI) was unchanged in May at a rate of 8.7 per cent , according to the Office for National Statistics. It came in [...]
Week ahead: Drama in Westminster to grip City, but don’t forget about ECB October 23, 2022 The City’s attention will be gripped by the race to Number 10 this week, but there are some substantial economic announcements elsewhere in the pipeline that deserve a closer look. The European Central Bank (ECB), the monetary authority of the 19 countries using the euro, is expected to hike interest rates 75 basis points for [...]
Bank of England Mann warns interest rates need to keep rising to squash inflation February 23, 2023 Interest rates in the UK will have to keep rising to prevent inflation sticking around for too long, a member of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee (MPC) warned today. Catherine Mann, who joined the rate setting group in September 2021 as an external member, said at an event hosted by the Resolution Foundation [...]
Federal Reserve and European Central Bank may back final rate rises this week, experts bet July 24, 2023 US Federal Reserve and European Central Bank officials could launch their final interest rate rises this week as inflation ebbs in their respective economic blocs, experts are betting. Members of the federal open market committee (FOMC) are on Wednesday tipped to raise borrowing costs 25 basis points to a range of 5.25 per cent and [...]
Another interest rate hike to boost banks’ profits, but how long will the windfall last? February 2, 2023 Bank shares prices were mixed after the Bank of England raised interest rates by 50 basis points earlier today, as the pressure on banks to pass on higher interest rates to savers grew. The more domestically focused Lloyds and Natwest were trading 1.0 per cent and 0.6 per cent higher respectively. Barclays was up 0.8 [...]
FTSE 100 close: London index runs out of steam ahead of expected Fed interest rate hike February 1, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 edged higher this morning, before running out of steam later in the day ahead of the US Federal Reserve launching a big week for central banks with an expected 25 basis point interest rate hike. The capital’s premier index eventually fell 0.17 per cent to 7,758.21 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE [...]
City braces for final economic figures before Christmas break December 11, 2022 The City is bracing for a string of big economic announcements in what will be the final busy week of news before the Christmas break. Tomorrow, fresh gross domestic product (GDP) figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) are expected to show the UK economy recovered in October. But, the 0.4 per cent growth [...]
Have Brits fallen out of love with DIY? B&Q and rival Wickes eye lower profits after costs soar and demand dwindles March 20, 2023 B&Q owner Kingfisher and rival Wickes are set to reveal falls in profits over the past year as surging costs dampen the outlook for the home improvements market. Kingfisher, which runs B&Q and Screwfix, has previously indicated its sales and profits have weakened over the past year, as it also saw DIY demand from locked-down [...]