Scorching inflation hits eurozone retail sales in sign of looming recession August 3, 2022 Surging inflation eroding Europeans’ living standards is squeezing spending in the bloc, reveal new figures published today. Retail sales dropped 1.2 per cent in the 19 countries that use the euro in June, down from a 0.4 per cent rise in May, Eurostat said. The drop, which was worse than analysts’ forecasts, means retail sales [...]
US recession risk remains as Fed seeks to tame inflation August 3, 2022 | City Talk After its latest rate rise, the Federal Reserve has signalled the pace of hikes could slow. But a recession may still be necessary to bring runaway inflation under control. The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by another 75 basis points (bps) at its July meeting, but indicated that the pace could slow from here. In [...]
Sheepish consumers deal blow to UK services economy August 3, 2022 Consumers cutting spending in response to a historic inflation surge has weighed on growth in the UK’s services economy, reveals a closely watched survey published today. Brits are being squeezed by soaring living costs eroding their incomes, prompting them to cut unnecessary spending to protect their finances. As a result, growth in the services industry [...]
Threat of stagflation returns for first time since 1970s as UK enters early stage of drawn-out recession August 3, 2022 The UK is in the early stages of a drawn out recession that will tip millions of households into financial crisis, reveals fresh forecasts published today. An inflation surge driven by an unprecedented rise in energy bills will steer the economy into recession this quarter and keep it there until early months of next year, [...]
Bank of England to rip up history books at this week’s rate decision August 3, 2022 Soaring inflation will force the Bank of England to do something it has never done since it was made independent 25 years ago, City economists are betting. Governor Andrew Bailey and the rest of the monetary policy committee (MPC) will hike interest rates 50 basis points this Thursday. The move would also mark the sixth [...]
London’s FTSE 100 tips into red despite BP and Shell’s best efforts August 2, 2022 Historic profits at oil giant BP nearly pushed London’s FTSE 100 into positive territory today. The capital’s premier index edged 0.06 per cent lower to 7,409.11 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, dropped over one per cent to below 20,000 points. Oil [...]
Where next for Coinbase’s share price? August 2, 2022 | City Talk Ahead of Coinbase announcing Q2 earnings on Tuesday 9 August, we look at what we can expect and how this might impact their share price. Coinbase share price All eyes are on whether Coinbase will negatively surprise once more after its first-quarter results where expectations of a positive reading suffered a loss of $1.98 per [...]
UK’s FCA to create 100 jobs through launch of new Leeds offices August 2, 2022 The UK’s financial watchdog today set out plans to hire 100 new staff at its newly opening Leeds office as it looks to bolster its headcount this year and meet the demands of an expanding regulatory remit. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced it has signed a lease for premises on 6 Queen Street, [...]
Six charts that show why high food prices aren’t going away August 2, 2022 Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted a sharp jump in the price of some food commodities and the impact looks set to be long-lasting. Price moves for some agricultural commodities have been dramatic since Russia invaded Ukraine at the end of February. The chart below shows how prices have jumped, with wheat gaining most. We believe [...]
Insolvencies surge to highest rates since financial crash as voluntary bankruptcies hit record levels August 2, 2022 The UK government’s Insolvency Service today said it recorded a higher number of insolvencies over the past three months than at any other point in more than a decade, after the numbers of companies declaring voluntary bankruptcies hit their highest levels since records began. The past three months saw a total of 5,629 English and [...]