No gravy train: Bisto-maker Premier to cut 300 jobs despite strong festive sales January 19, 2023 Leading British manufacturer Premier Foods’ grocery business has gone from strength-to-strength over the Christmas period, as it looks to close a loss-making factory costing 300 jobs. The company, the maker or famous brands including Mr Kipling, Ambrosia, Custard and Angel Delight, cashed in on festive purchasing despite the cost of living crisis, with sales up [...]
FTSE 100 close: Ocado emerges as top dog in 2023 so far, but index pulls away from record high January 18, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 finished slightly lower today, dragging it further away from its record and signalling traders are looking through signs UK inflation has passed its peak and could be a downward trend this year. The capital’s premier index dropped 0.27 per cent lower to 7,830.71 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which [...]
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 [...]
Inflation drops for second month in a row but experts warn rate has yet to pass its peak January 18, 2023 UK inflation has fallen for the second month in a row, but soaring food prices have led some experts to warn it may not have passed its peak yet. The rate of price increases dropped to 10.5 per cent in December, down from 10.7 per cent in the previous month, the Office for National Statistics [...]
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 [...]
To withstand future recessions, the UK needs radical supply side reform January 17, 2023 When academics write essays, they begin with an abstract that captures the causes, effects and outcomes of the economic policy change they are examining. Boosting the supply side has a pretty simple argument. Either increasing the volume or productivity of resources used to produce things makes a country richer. That’s it. Let’s take a look [...]
UK to shake off mild recession by end of this year, City analyst predicts January 16, 2023 The UK economy will experience a very mild recession and could be out of it by the end of this year, a top City economist has forecast. International energy prices have marched back down the steep hill they climbed after Russian president Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in February last year. On some measures, [...]
London outperforms UK economy again in sign capital could swerve recession January 16, 2023 London is outperforming the nationwide economy, indicating the capital is on course to avoid what experts think will be a long recession in the UK, a new survey out today shows. An index of business output in London compiled by NatWest jumped to 50.2 last month, up from 48.2, meaning the capital’s economy is growing. [...]
Week ahead: First data dump of 2023 to reveal whether UK tipped into recession January 15, 2023 The first big data dump of 2023 in the coming week is set to unveil more clues on whether the UK economy entered a recession in the final months of last year. City traders are hoping fresh inflation figures out on Wednesday from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) will show price pressures are still [...]
Bank of England makes £3.8bn profit from Liz Truss mini budget bond sales January 12, 2023 The Bank of England has trousered £3.8bn in profits from ditching bonds it hoovered up to stem financial chaos caused by Liz Truss’s calamitous mini-budget, the central bank told City A.M. The Bank announced today it has ditched all the £19.3bn of gilts purchased last autumn to stabilise the UK debt market. Governor Andrew Bailey [...]