King’s coronation steers UK economy back into red as GDP shrinks 0.1 per cent in May July 13, 2023 Lost work owing to the additional bank holiday to celebrate the King’s coronation has sent UK economic growth into reverse, official figures out today reveal. UK gross domestic product (GDP) contracted 0.1 per cent in May, a much smaller drop than the City expected and down from a 0.2 per cent expansion in April, according [...]
US inflation slumps to lowest level in more than two years and is now well below UK July 12, 2023 Inflation in the US has slumped to its lowest level in more than two years and is now far below the UK’s rate, official figures out today reveal. American inflation fell to three per cent in June on an annual basis, down from four per cent in the previous month, according to the US Labour [...]
Nearly one million UK homeowners to have £500 a month eaten up by higher mortgage payments July 12, 2023 UK homeowners are poised to hand over a bigger chunk of their income to their lenders every month after they roll on to a new mortgage with a much higher interest rate, the Bank of England has warned today. By the end of 2026, around 1m families will be paying an at least additional £500 [...]
Bank of England says UK’s big banks passed stress test and are ‘resilient’ to rising rates July 12, 2023 The UK’s largest lenders passed the Bank of England’s stress tests with flying colours, even as concerns grow around the health of the mortgage market. In its latest stress test, the Bank of England concluded that banks were “resilient”, enabling them to withstand persistently higher inflation and a deep global recession. “The UK banking system [...]
UK families set for another year of cost of living crisis and £65bn hit to finances July 12, 2023 UK families are poised to be gripped by the cost of living crisis for nearly another whole year due to the Bank of England keeping interest rates higher for longer in a bid to vanquish inflation, a new report out today claims. Household finances will be corroded by rising living costs and elevated rates until [...]
FTSE 100 close: London index nips higher as Bank of England rate hike bets step up July 11, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 crept higher today as another set of hotter than feared wage numbers pushed pound sterling to its highest level in 15 months. The capital’s premier index nipped 0.12 per cent higher to 7,282.51 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, [...]
Why record wage growth could seal another jumbo interest rate rise from Bank of England July 11, 2023 It seems strange to cheer what economists call a “loosening in the labour market”. What that basically means is: employment growth is slowing, joblessness is on the up, vacancies falling and wage growth receding. Most of those requirements were met in today’s release from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). In a shock to the [...]
Shock record wage growth amplifies risk of 14th straight Bank of England interest rate rise July 11, 2023 Workers’ pay is rising faster than expected and at among the quickest paces on record in a sign that the Bank of England will deliver a 14th straight interest rate rise next month, official figures out this morning reveal. Pay excluding bonuses rose 7.3 per cent over the three months to May on an annual [...]
The FTSE 100 has done us all dirty… again July 11, 2023 The FTSE 100 has done us all dirty yet – again. Over and over it marches us up a hill only to send us back down again. Former Bank of England governor Mark Carney is often referred to as the “unreliable boyfriend” of monetary policy making for his comments signalling he and the MPC would [...]
Bank of England won’t hesitate to hike rates if inflation persists, warns Andrew Bailey July 10, 2023 The Bank of England will have to keep on lifting interest rates if wages keep rising at a near record pace and businesses continue to pass on swelling costs, Governor Andrew Bailey has signalled today. In a speech delivered at the annual Mansion House bankers’ dinner, Bailey said price pressures emanating from the labour market [...]