Brits scrambling for early Christmas presents boosts credit lending to 16-month high January 4, 2022 Brits scrambling to get their hands on Christmas presents early to avoid shortages boosted credit card spending to a 16-month high, reveal official figures released today. Households in the UK took on £1.2bn in net consumer debt in November, the highest level in nearly a year and a half, according to the Bank of England. [...]
PMI: UK factories hoist prices at fastest pace on record January 4, 2022 UK factories are hiking prices at the fastest pace on record as firms scramble to protect their margins amid a cost onslaught, reveals a closely watched survey released today. British manufacturers lifted prices at the quickest pace ever recorded by IHS Markit, the organisation that complies the purchasing managers’ index (PMI). Input price inflation hovered [...]
Inflation could push past seven per cent in 2022, economists caution January 4, 2022 Inflation could push past the seven per cent mark this year, economists have cautioned, as living costs swell. The new year could bring the highest levels of inflation since the 1990s, economists told The Times, after prices rose by 5.1 per cent in the year to November. More than a third of economists forecast inflation [...]
New year, new record: S&P 500 hitting new high on first day of 2022 is sign investors remain bullish about stocks January 4, 2022 The new year start off with a bang for global markets as Wall Street recorded record highs for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% and the Dow finished 0.7% higher. Both indexes eclipsed the record highs they set last Wednesday. The Nasdaq composite rose 1.2%. Technology stocks [...]
Brits face cost of living assault on all fronts in 2022 January 4, 2022 Brits are facing a cost of living crunch on all fronts in 2022, reveal fresh figures released today. Prices in shops accelerated 0.8 per cent in annually in December, just the second time prices have risen in over two years, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). The rise has been driven by food retailers [...]
PMI: Signs of supply chain restoration emerge in Europe January 3, 2022 Signs that the supply chain crisis that has plagued economies across the world is easing are emerging in Europe, reveals a closely watched survey released today. The amount of time it takes manufacturers in the Eurozone to get their hands on materials rose at the slowest pace since February last year, according to IHS Markit’s [...]
AIM ropes in best year for fundraising in over a decade January 3, 2022 London’s junior stock market roped in its best year for fundraising in nearly a decade and a half this year, reveal new figures released today. Money raised on AIM in 2021 topped £9.4bn, the highest value since 2007, according to the London Stock Exchange. Some 64 companies floated on the junior market, its most active [...]
Energy chiefs urge government to step in to cool cost of living crisis January 3, 2022 Energy chiefs have called on the government to step in and ease the cost of living crisis looming over British households. The chief executive of Octopus Energy told Times Radio that unless the government intervened in the market, soaring gas prices will hit consumers hard. Greg Jackson said: “Unless action is taken, we will start [...]
Jubilant South Africa lifts curfew as Omicron wave subsides rapidly with minimal Covid hospital admissions and Delta killed off: ‘Expect the same in other countries’ December 31, 2021 Optimism is growing rapidly in South Africa as the wave of Covid infections caused by the Omicron variant seems to subside as quickly as it came. Infections are down and multiple Covid experts have confirmed the Omicron wave is subsiding quickly. The government therefore lifted the months-long curfew last night, allowing South Africans to party [...]
Brits flocking to online retailers hoists UK spending above pre-pandemic levels December 31, 2021 Widespread take up of online shopping amid Covid-19 lockdowns has lifted consumer spending above pre-pandemic levels, reveal fresh figures released today. Brits spent 5.9 per cent more in 2021 compared to 2019, according to research from Barclaycard, which cover £1 in every £3 spent on debit and credit cards in the UK. The upbeat spending [...]