New nuclear will make UK more competitive February 17, 2023 | Sponsored For 65 years, nuclear power has been an integral part of the UK’s electricity system, providing low carbon and reliable power to UK homes, public services and businesses. However, there is much work to be done in modernising and increasing nuclear capacity if the UK is to keep the lights on and hit net zero [...]
FTSE 100 close: London index pulls further away from record 8,000 point threshold as British Gas owner surges February 16, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 scaled further above the 8,000 point mark today driven by investors piling into British Gas owner Centrica after it posted record profits of more than £3bn last year. The capital’s premier index jumped 0.18 per cent to 8,012.53 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the [...]
Why is the UK economy poised to tumble into a recession and fall behind Europe, US and even Russia? February 16, 2023 Britain avoided a much-tipped recession at the end of last year. Phew. “However, we are not out of the woods yet,” warned Chancellor Jeremy Hunt after last Friday’s GDP figures from the ONS revealed the economy stagnated at the end of 2022, meaning it narrowly avoided the technical recession definition of two consecutive quarters of [...]
FTSE 100 close: London index breaches 8,000 mark for first time ever despite Barclays tumbling February 15, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 today breached the 8,000 point mark for the first time ever despite Britain’s biggest banks tanking after Barclays posted a big profits drop. Today’s move higher crystalises the premier index’s bullish start to 2023 that has seen it surged more than seven per cent. The new year rally builds on advances that [...]
UK inflation drops for third straight month in sign Bank of England is nearing end of interest rate hikes February 15, 2023 Inflation in the UK is falling faster than experts expected which may convince the Bank of England to consider ending its aggressive campaign to tame prices with interest rate rises, official figures out today reveal. The rate of price increases in Britain dropped to 10.1 per cent last month, down from 10.5 per cent in [...]
Neil Bennett Notebook: A tale of two striking cities February 15, 2023 Neil Bennett’s notebook on two very different types of strike in London versus Paris
FTSE 100 close: London index nears 8,000 point mark for first time despite UK economy toying with recession February 14, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 nearly hit the 8,000 point mark for the first time ever yesterday despite the UK economy toying with a recession. The capital’s premier index climbed for most of the day, before running of steam during the afternoon trading session, dragged down by a hotter than expected US inflation report showing prices rose [...]
US inflation eases for seventh straight month but pace of decline loses momentum in headache for Fed February 14, 2023 US inflation eased for the seventh month in a row in January, but the pace of decline is beginning to level off, official figures out today reveal. The pace of price increases in the world’s largest economy on an annual basis fell to 6.4 per cent, down from 6.5 per cent, according to the US [...]
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 [...]
The £200bn Covid savings war chest that could prevent a UK recession February 14, 2023 There’s a war chest of nearly £200bn – which started to be built up during the pandemic and has grown ever since – that could save the UK from recession. This may come as a surprise when all we hear from Westminster is how skint we are, but the stash of cash isn’t made up [...]
