Ex Asda boss: Cutting prices for cash-strapped Brits is ‘very important’ after Sunuk plea June 23, 2023 Supermarkets regard cutting prices as “very important”, according to a former boss of Asda, after the Prime Minister warned retailers about pricing “responsibly and fairly”. Andy Clarke, who served as Asda’s chief executive officer between 2010 and 2016, said the big chains were “heavily focused” on competitive pricing as the industry hit back over suggestions [...]
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to meet lenders as mortgage crisis worsens June 23, 2023 Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will ask banks if they can do more to support struggling households after a shock interest rate hike deepened the mortgage crisis. He is meeting large lenders including HSBC and Santander in Downing Street this morning as the government comes under pressure to relieve the pain. Prime minister Rishi Sunak and Hunt [...]
It was do or die for Andrew Bailey and the Bank of England – in the end, there was no choice June 23, 2023 When it came down to it, there was no choice. Inflation stuck at just below nine per cent. Unforgiving buried price pressures. Businesses rebuilding profits. Workers with no choice but to demand more money. These are the characteristics of an economy stuck in stagflation. The Bank of England had to take drastic measures. Yesterday’s interest [...]
Bank of England hikes interest rates by 50 points to five per cent after inflation shock June 22, 2023 The Bank of England today reverted to steeper interest rate rises in a sign that embattled Governor Andrew Bailey and co have been spooked by much tougher than feared inflation. Bailey and the rest of the monetary policy committee (MPC) – the nine-strong group who set official interest rates in Britain – backed a 50 [...]
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 [...]
Does raising interest rates actually bring down inflation? June 22, 2023 Britain’s inflation problem is looking much harder to solve than first thought. Numbers out from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) yesterday revealed the rate of price increases was unchanged in May at 8.7 per cent. The City thought it would slim to 8.4 per cent. Core inflation – the best barometer of underlying price [...]
UK inflation smashes forecasts again raising chances of larger Bank of England interest rate hike June 21, 2023 UK inflation is still outpacing experts’ predictions and is running at a level that could lure the Bank of England into an outsized interest rate hike tomorrow, heaping more pain on families and businesses. Official figures out this morning from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the rate of price hikes held steady at [...]
FTSE 100 close: London’s markets close in the red after inflation shock sends shivers through market June 21, 2023 London’s indexes closed in the red on Wednesday after yet another higher than expected inflation reading earlier this morning. The FTSE 100 closed 0.1 per cent lower at 7,559.18 while the FTSE 250, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, sunk 0.9 per cent to 18,571.45. Official figures out this morning [...]
Bank of England risks steering UK into needless recession with more interest rate hikes June 20, 2023 Back in November, the Bank of England took the highly unusual step of explicitly telling financial markets to calm their sky high bets on where interest rates might end up. “Should the economy evolve broadly in line with the latest monetary policy report projections, further increases in bank rate may be required for a sustainable [...]
TSB becomes latest bank to press pause on some mortgage lending June 19, 2023 TSB has become the latest lender to press pause on sales of some of its mortgages. The bank said it was removing some mortgages from sale as of 4pm on Monday. The changes apply to products sold both direct and via brokers and TSB is expecting to reintroduce residential deals on Wednesday. For residential mortgages, [...]