UK manufacturing growth slumps to 16 month low June 1, 2022 The soaring cost of living and a slowdown in shopper demand choked off growth in British manufacturing last month as the sector expanded at the weakest rate since January 2021, a closely watched survey revealed today
Eurozone inflation surges to 8.1 per cent as pressure grows on ECB for rate hikes May 31, 2022 Eurozone inflation surged ahead of expectations to a record high in May as pressure grows on the European Central Bank’s to hike interest rates.
Pound faces ‘existential crisis’ with Sterling’s struggles similar to currencies in emerging markets, BofA warns May 31, 2022 The pound is facing an “existential crisis,” the Bank of America warned today, saying that the British currency is facing struggles similar to those in emerging markets. “Whilst not wishing to over-exaggerate GBP’s predicament as some kind of ‘end of days’ scenario, we are concerned that the increasing politicisation of UK policy undermines the GBP [...]
Millions of UK households could face blackouts this winter due to war in Ukraine May 30, 2022 Millions of UK households could face blackouts this winter due to global shortages of natural gas caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine, the UK government has warned. As many as six million British households could be subjected to blackouts, if Russia makes further efforts to cut off the EU’s gas supplies, according to a Whitehall [...]
NIESR top economist: Bank of England has tools to fight inflation May 30, 2022 The UK economy is in a bit of a bind. Households are being squeezed by historic rises in their living costs, while businesses’ margins are thinning due to expenses soaring. A much higher than expected inflation crunch – primarily the result of Russia’s unforeseen invasion of Ukraine – is forecast to trigger a spending pull [...]
US financial watchdog raises questions around Musk’s Twitter stake acquisition May 28, 2022 The US Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) has cast doubts over the legality of Elon Musk’s failure to properly disclose his acquisition of a 9.2 per cent stake in Twitter for $2.6bn, before launching his bid to takeover the social media firm. In an April 4 letter to the richest person in the world – [...]
Iran seizes Greek oil tankers in escalation of Tehran’s spat with Western powers May 28, 2022 Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have seized two Greek oil tankers, after the Iranian government said it would take “punitive action” against Greece over its seizure of an Iranian oil cargo last month. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) said it had seized two Greek tankers sailing in international waters off the coast of Iran. The seizures [...]
Windfall tax u-turn drags down London-listed energy titans May 27, 2022 London-listed energy companies that will be caught by Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s windfall tax tumbled during opening exchanges today. The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index was flat this morning at 7,564.82 points, while the mid-cap domestically-focused FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, jumped 0.52 per cent to 20,354.82 [...]
Exclusive: KPMG to hire 3,500 tech workers to staff newly launched digital products business May 27, 2022 KPMG today launched a new digital solutions business which is set to see the firm more than double the size of its 3,000 strong technology focused workforce by hiring 3,500 new data scientists and engineers. The UK arm of the Big Four firm said it plans to create 1,000 London tech jobs, in its efforts [...]