UK household debt swells past £2 trillion for first time ever March 27, 2023 Family debt has swelled past £2 trillion for the first time ever in a sign Brits are whipping out their credit cards to fund spending amid the cost of living crunch, new research out today reveals. Household debt is now nearly the same size as the entire UK economy (£2.2 trillion) and has been pushed [...]
UK suffering worst living standards squeeze on record, OBR boss warns March 26, 2023 Brits’ spending power won’t recover to pre-pandemic levels for another half decade, the boss of the UK’s economic watchdog has warned. The UK is experiencing the “biggest squeeze on living standards we’ve faced in this country on record”, Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) chairman Richard Hughes said today. His stark warning came after the regulator’s [...]
Families grow increasingly confident about UK dodging recession March 24, 2023 Families are increasingly confident the UK will dodge a recession this year in another sign the economy is performing better than feared than at the turn of the year, a closely watched survey out today indicates. UK consumer confidence jumped in March for the second month in a row, albeit up to a historically low [...]
FTSE 100 close: London index slips after of Bank of England interest rate hike March 23, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 slipped lower today after the Bank of England’s hiked interest rates for the eleventh time in a row. The capital’s premier index dropped 0.89 per cent to just under 7,500 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, lost 0.15 per [...]
Bank of England hikes interest rates for eleventh time in a row to post financial crisis high of 4.25 per cent March 23, 2023 The Bank of England today hiked interest rates for the eleventh time in a row to a post-financial crisis of 4.25 per cent as it continues to lead the fight against the worst UK inflation crisis in four decades. Governor Andrew Bailey and his team of rate setters bumped borrowing costs 25 basis points higher, [...]
When is the Bank of England interest rate decision and what is going to happen? March 23, 2023 The Bank of England is going to deliver its interest rate decision today against the backdrop of a shock rise in inflation and a now becalmed banking mini-crisis. Before Wednesday’s surprise increase in inflation to 10.4 per cent, there was speculation about whether the Bank’s decision making body, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) would raise [...]
UK inflation shock was bad for the Bank of England – and disastrous for families March 22, 2023 These were not good inflation numbers for the Bank of England. They were even worse for families. Nearly everyone has been taken aback by the Office for National Statistics calculating the annual rate of headline inflation (the consumer price index) snapped a three month falling streak to climb to 10.4 per cent last month. That [...]
UK inflation leaps to 10.4 per cent smashing Bank of England and City forecasts March 22, 2023 UK inflation has surpassed forecasts and stayed in the double digits, in a sign the Bank of England will need to keep hiking interest rates to tame prices, official figures out today reveal. The rate of price increases jumped to 10.4 per cent in February, up from 10.1 per cent in January, according to the [...]
Nearly every sector of UK economy powers away from feared recession March 22, 2023 Nearly every sector of the UK economy is powering away from a recession that was much-tipped at the turn of the year, a new survey out today shows. Some 11 of the 14 sectors monitored by Lloyds Bank are producing more than they did a month ago, the highest number in nearly a year. The [...]
Hunt must commit Treasury and BoE to review of rate rise impact, Labour shadow City minister urges March 21, 2023 Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has been urged to commit the Treasury and the Bank of England to a review of “sharp interest rate rises” in light of the ongoing banking turmoil. Shockwaves have rocked the financial sector in the past weeks with the collapse of the US arm of tech bank SVB – plus the buyout [...]
