Inflation erodes UK real pay rapidly despite record wage increases as 137,000 Brits return to workforce February 14, 2023 UK take home pay is falling at one of the fastest paces since records began over two decades ago despite wage growth racing ahead at the quickest rate outside the pandemic, official figures out today reveal. Real pay fell 4.3 per cent over the three months to December last year when using the consumer price [...]
UK to narrowly avoid recession but cost of living crisis will leave families £4,000 worse off February 8, 2023 The UK is poised to narrowly avoid a recession but the cost of living crisis will still leave average Brits £4,000 worse off this year, fresh forecasts out today reveal. Britain’s economy is set to squeeze out 0.2 per cent of GDP growth in 2023, meaning it will just about swerve a technical reversal, two [...]
Businesses trim hiring ahead of possible UK recession but experts cheer swelling vacancies February 8, 2023 Businesses are reining in hiring ahead of an economic slowdown that could tip the UK into recession, a closely watched survey out today shows. Permanent hires fell for the fourth month in a row last month, with KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation’s (REC) permanent placement index coming in below the 50 point growth [...]
‘A different stage’: EU says Russia escalating Ukraine war with attacks on civilians to pile pressure on Nato, Germany, US and UK January 27, 2023 A senior EU official said Russia has taken its war against Ukraine to “a different stage” by making indiscriminate attacks on civilians and non-military targets. The official also accused Moscow of triggering recent moves by Germany and the United States to send advanced tanks to Ukraine. Stefano Sannino, secretary general of the European Union’s European [...]
Bank of England expected to raise interest rates by 50 points to post financial crisis high of four per cent January 26, 2023 The Bank of England is set to hike interest rates 50 basis points to four per cent next week, jacking them up to the highest level since the financial crisis, markets expect. City traders reckon its governor Andrew Bailey will lift borrowing costs for the tenth time in a row, something the UK central bank [...]
UK’s wealth gap: Cost of living crisis boosts income of richest Brits by £1k but leaves poorest £600 a year worse off January 25, 2023 The disparity between Britain’s richest and Britain’s poorest earners has grown as a result of the cost of living crisis and a freezing in the income tax threshold, figures have revealed. The richest Brits have managed to increase their household disposable income by just over £1,000 in the last year, while the poorest are on [...]
UK economy stumbles behind Euro peers as risk of recession gathers pace January 24, 2023 The UK economy is falling further behind its international rivals and experts, according to a closely watched survey. The survey by economists has revealed Britain’s services industry, which generates about £2 in every £3 in the country, is shrinking at the fastest pace in two years. S&P Global and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and [...]
Glass half-full: Why Fuller’s chief remains optimistic despite strikes leaving a £4m dent in Christmas sales January 23, 2023 Pub chain Fuller’s lost £4m in sales due to the impact of strikes over Christmas and new year, as its chief warned of lower expectations for the full year. Chiswick-based Fuller, Smith and Turner reported in the 43 weeks to January that like-for-like sales were up a fifth on the Covid-impacted previous year – despite [...]
City analysts betting on Bank of England interest rate cuts by early 2024 – as long as inflation falls quickly January 18, 2023 The Bank of England could cut interest rates as soon as early next year if inflation continues to tumble in 2023, top City analysts have predicted. The rate of price increases is forecast to more than halve which would bring inflation to below five per cent by the end of 2023, according to forecasts from [...]
Brits’ take home pay still falling rapidly despite record wage rises January 17, 2023 Brits are suffering one of the sharpest hits to their take home pay despite businesses handing workers bumper pay prices, official figures out today reveal. Real pay tumbled 2.6 per cent over the three months to November, among the steepest drops seen outside the Covid-19 crisis, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The [...]