Week ahead: ECB Lagarde to sign off on another 50 point interest rate hike and Deliveroo updates markets March 12, 2023 Topping City traders’ minds this week will be what is tipped to be another 50 basis point interest rate hike by the European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday. The monetary authority of the 20 countries using the euro has explicitly told markets to expect another steep rate hike this week and possibly more in the [...]
Chancellor Hunt says he can’t rush into tax cuts before economy gets back to growth March 11, 2023 British finance minister Jeremy Hunt said he wanted to lower tax rates for individuals and especially businesses in the longer term but warned it would take time because the economy needed to grow more quickly first. Hunt, who is due to present his budget on Wednesday, said in an interview broadcast on Saturday that lower tax [...]
UK economy ‘bounces back’ in another signal a recession is off the table but experts warn of stagnation March 10, 2023 The UK economy “bounced back” from a sharp contraction over Christmas and is holding up better than feared in another sign the country could avoid a recession, official figures out today show. Gross domestic product (GDP) jumped 0.3 per cent in January, better than the consensus forecast of 0.1 per cent growth, according to the [...]
Making hybrid working work across the City March 9, 2023 Last month, ACCA published our inaugural Global Talent Trends 2023 survey, which shared valuable insights into workplace trends and practices from more than 8,400 professional accountants around the world. We found that out of all the topics covered in the report, hybrid working attracted the most attention. This deep interest in hybrid work models is [...]
Jeremy Hunt readies placeholder budget that will let a lot of people down March 9, 2023 Jeremy Hunt is going to let a lot of people down at his budget next Wednesday. Businesses. Families. Even former Prime Ministers. The Chancellor is poised to resist calls to save a flatlining economy by staying the course set in his November autumn statement of balancing the books. Households want an extension of energy support [...]
UK dodges recession but economy still poised to be below pre-Covid-19 size until end of 2024, BCC forecast March 9, 2023 The UK is poised to avoid a recession this year but suffer a slow burning economic slump that will leave GDP below its pre-pandemic level until the final months of next year, new forecasts out late last night claim. Stronger than expected household spending despite sky high inflation plaguing families’ finances will put the economy [...]
FTSE 100 close: Wall Street sell off tames London index after Powell rate warning March 8, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 was tamed today by a sell off that gathered pace in Wall Street last night after US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell signalled outsized interest rate rises could be back on the menu. The capital’s premier index squeezed out a 0.13 per cent gain to close at 7,929.93 points, while the domestically-focused [...]
Bank of England risks tipping UK economy into recession with further interest rate hikes, MPC’s Dhingra warns March 8, 2023 The Bank of England risks tipping the UK economy into recession if it raises interest rates too aggressively and worsening the cost of living crisis, a top official said today. Swati Dhingra, an external member of the Bank of England rate setting monetary policy committee (MPC), warned “overtightening poses a more material risk at this [...]
Business groups question Bank of England Mann’s ‘greedflation’ claim March 8, 2023 Business groups yesterday said many firms had no choice but to raise prices to offset high costs in response to a Bank of England rate setter claiming companies are pursuing so-called ‘greedflation’ by pumping up prices to exploit strong consumer spending. Catherine Mann, an external member of the Bank’s rate setting monetary policy committee (MPC), [...]
London businesses shelve hiring plans amid UK recession uncertainty March 8, 2023 London businesses are the most reluctant to take on new staff in the UK due to uncertainty over whether the country will eventually tip into recession, a closely watched survey out today reveals. The capital’s firms are trimming intentions to expand their workforce due to concerns over a looming drop in consumer spending amid the [...]
