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), [...]
FTSE 100 close: Powell interest rate warning drags London index into the red March 7, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 was muted today as investors sweat over whether Fed chair Jerome Powell’s warning that US interest rates will stay higher for longer means other central banks will follow suit. The capital’s premier index closed 0.13 per cent lower at 7,919.49 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned [...]
Federal Reserve chair Powell warns of ‘higher than expected’ rate peak and steep hikes to stun inflation March 7, 2023 The US Federal Reserve is prepared to heap more pressure on the world’s largest economy by returning to steep interest rate hikes to contain inflation, its chief warned today. Jerome Powell, chair of the Fed, said the world’s most influential central bank is “prepared to accelerate rate hikes” if the pace of price increases in [...]
Jeremy Hunt is at sharp end of economic consensus on childcare revolution March 7, 2023 It’s rare for consensus to emerge in economics. Quibbles about the role of the state in society, the level of taxation and where to spend taxpayers’ money often turn into heated arguments thrashed out in just a handful of words on social media. But for once people interested in policymaking are behind around one area [...]
Retail sales: Shoppers feeling the love in lead up to Valentine’s Day not enough to protect sector from ‘volatile trading conditions’ March 7, 2023 Shoppers scrambling for gifts in the lead up to Valentine’s Day helped boost retail sales in February, however the sector has warned that it’s still facing “volatile trading conditions”. According to figures published by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), UK total retail sales increased by 5.2 per cent in February as consumers showed they were [...]
Chancellor to face ‘tough choices’ in delivering Spring Budget despite having to borrow £30bn less March 6, 2023 Jeremy Hunt will be forced to make tough decisions in his upcoming Budget, experts have warned, despite the Chancellor having considerably more wiggle room than previously thought. Improvements in the state of the British economy mean Jeremy Hunt will have to borrow £30bn less than the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR’s) November forecast showed, according [...]
From the digital pound, to homeworking via heat pumps: Morning Wire’s five most-read stories of the week March 3, 2023 The most read story of the last seven days was the revelation that the digital pound would coming this decade. Details of the unpublished Treasury and BoE report were reported here and read by hundreds of thousands of readers Second most read was our energy editor’s piece on heat pumps, following British Gas owner’s decision [...]
FTSE 100 close: Buildings firm CRH lifts London index as it readies for New York departure March 2, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 reversed an early morning slide today to finish in the black, lifted higher building giant CRH topping the index despite announcing it is mulling re-listing in New York. The capital’s premier index jumped 0.37 per cent to 7,944.05 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the [...]
Inflation in Europe rises to record high, raising spectre of steep ECB interest rate hikes March 2, 2023 European inflation is running at record levels, piling pressure on the European Central Bank (ECB) to keep hiking interest rates aggressively this year. The rate of core price increases bumped to a record 5.6 per cent last month, up from 5.3 per cent and up to the highest level since records began in 1999, according [...]
London must be given power to direct its economy to arrest historic productivity decline, study urges March 2, 2023 London must be given greater power to direct its economy by central government to arrest a historic productivity decline, a new report out today has urged. Handing the capital more sway over tax and spending decisions, peeling back onerous planning rules and boosting graduate migration would help London return to being an economic growth engine [...]