Editorial: After months on the sidelines, it’s time for the Bank of England to enter the inflation fight February 1, 2022 After months on the sidelines, the Bank of England’s rate setting committee should finally enter the inflation fight at their meeting on Thursday. Arguably, governor Andrew Bailey has inherited not just Mark Carney’s role as Bank chief, but also his propensity to act like an “unreliable boyfriend” after keeping rates unchanged in November despite the [...]
Slowing US economy to throttle global growth February 1, 2022 A sharp slowdown in the stateside economy is set to throttle global growth this year, Wall Street analysts are forecasting. A wave of worker absences caused by the Omicron variant sweeping across the US has led to the American economy stumbling out of the blocks in 2022, according to Goldman Sachs. Americans will slash spending [...]
Industrials rally boosts London markets February 1, 2022 A rally among mining stocks dug the foundations for a bullish day on London markets today. The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index climbed 0.96 per cent close at 7,535.78 points, while the domestically-focused FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, finished 1.1 per cent higher at 22,167.94 points. [...]
Rampant inflation forces Brits to dip into Covid-19 savings February 1, 2022 Brits are unleashing the enormous stock of savings amassed over the course of the Covid-19 crisis to maintain spending amid soaring inflation, reveal fresh official figures released today. Households are turning to drawing down savings due to the intensifying cost of living crunch stretching their budgets. The combined £3.2bn jump in households savings over the [...]
PMI: British factories shake off Plan B to clear swelling order backlog February 1, 2022 British factories shook off the Omicron variant and Plan B to focus on clearing a swelling backlog of work, reveals a closely watched survey released today. Business among UK manufacturers climbed at the fastest pace in half a year in January, driven by factories tackling mounting order books built up during 2021 when the trading [...]
National insurance hike to spike UK firms just as they recover from Plan B and Omicron February 1, 2022 The national insurance hike is set to spike UK businesses just as they have recovered from the Omicron and Plan B-induced economic hit, reveals a fresh survey released today. Firms are deeply concerned that a combination of the national insurance (NI) hike and swelling energy bills will limit their capacity to survive, according to research [...]
London markets post mixed day to kick off week as Vodafone climbs January 31, 2022 London markets kicked the week off in mixed style yesterday despite investors taking kindly to news that telecoms giant Vodafone is being targeted by an activist investor. The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index edged down 0.02 per cent to 7,464.37 points, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of [...]
British stocks primed to reverse years of underperformance January 31, 2022 UK stocks are primed to turnaround years of underperformance and embark on a “winning streak,” according to analysis by a top City consultancy. London markets are ready to capitalise on the world’s top central banks launching a rate hike spree this year to get on top of inflation, according to Pantheon Macroeconomics. The FTSE 100 [...]
Cream of central banking crop have underestimated inflation crunch, experts warn January 31, 2022 The world’s top central banks have underestimated the stickiness of inflation spreading throughout rich economies, prompting them to launch a quicker than expected rate hike cycle this year. Measures used to quantify the severity of underlying inflation pressures will stay high even by the end of the year in most rich countries, according to fresh [...]
Levelling down London will hamstring the rest of the country, report warns January 31, 2022 The levelling up agenda will hamstring the UK economy if it moves business outside of London, reveals a fresh study published today. The government will fail in its ambition to narrow regional inequalities by pushing to stimulate economic activity across the UK “at London’s expense,” according to consultancy EY. Choking London’s contribution to the British [...]
