European Central Bank kicks rates 50 points higher and signals more such hikes to come February 2, 2023 The European Central Bank (ECB) today hiked interest rates 50 basis points and signalled further such increases are coming this year. The monetary authority of the 19 countries using the euro kicked rates higher to tame inflation, which last year hit the highest level since the creation of the common currency back in 1999. Borrowing [...]
Forget the IMF, the Bank of England are the real doomsters in this UK recession merry-go-round February 2, 2023 This week the International Monetary Fund (IMF) became public enemy number one for saying the UK will be the only rich economy to suffer a contraction in 2023. Even Russia, hobbled by sanctions to punish it for its invasion of Ukraine, is poised to squeeze out more growth than Britain this year, the lender of [...]
How To Know Layoffs Are Coming And What To Do About It February 2, 2023 If recent headlines are anything to go by, the future of the tech industry isn’t as secure as we once thought it was. Mass layoffs at Stripe and Meta closed out 2022, and in January alone, Google’s parent company announced it plans to shed 12,000 of its workforce, while Amazon has decided to cut 18,000 [...]
Bank of England hikes interest rates for tenth time in a row amid recession and warns of further action to tame inflation February 2, 2023 The Bank of England today hiked interest rates for the tenth time in a row amid a recession to the highest level since the financial crisis in 2008 and warned more increases may be needed to tame inflation. The nine-strong committee of rate setters that set the base level of borrowing costs in the UK [...]
Bank of England signals inflation has peaked but warns of 15-month long recession February 2, 2023 Inflation in the UK has peaked and is on course to fall rapidly over the coming year, easing the worst cost of living crisis in a generation, but a slow burning, mild recession is still a threat, the Bank of England said today. The rate of price increases is poised to more than halve from [...]
The Bank of England appears to have learnt from earlier mistakes February 2, 2023 The Bank of England made a host of missteps in the early parts of the inflation spike. It has become more boring - and more effective - since.
Federal Reserve hikes rates 25 basis points in sign Powell is nearing end of inflation fight February 1, 2023 The US Federal Reserve has climbed down to the lowest interest rate hike in nearly a year in a sign the world’s most influential central bank is nearing the end of its aggressive campaign to tame a historic inflation surge. Fed chair Jerome Powell and the rest of the federal open market committee (FOMC) backed [...]
Architects of UK financial rules question direction of Edinburgh reforms February 1, 2023 Two leading architects of the UK’s financial regulations today questioned the idea of giving regulators a competitiveness mandate and warned that reforms to Solvency II could expose the financial sector to greater risks. In a Treasury committee hearing today, John Vickers, chair of the independent banking commission, doubted the idea of giving financial regulators a [...]
FTSE 100 close: London index runs out of steam ahead of expected Fed interest rate hike February 1, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 edged higher this morning, before running out of steam later in the day ahead of the US Federal Reserve launching a big week for central banks with an expected 25 basis point interest rate hike. The capital’s premier index eventually fell 0.17 per cent to 7,758.21 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE [...]
Khan’s call to re-introduce VAT-free shopping backed by retailers who claim it would lure 1.5 million more tourists to London February 1, 2023 Kay Buxton, chief executive of Marble Arch London BID, said that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt “missed a trick” at the last Budget by not reintroducing tax-free shopping, noting that the move could have increased spending by £2.1bn.