US Fed becomes first major central bank to blink as it reins in Covid-19 stimulus November 3, 2021 The US Federal Reserve has become the first of the world’s major central banks to blink in the face of soaring inflation. The Fed today decided to rein in the wave of stimulus it unleashed in response to the Covid-19 crisis and slash the scale of its monthly QE programme by $15bn starting this month. [...]
No pocket money: PM to oversee worst disposable income growth in 70 years November 3, 2021 The current Tory government will oversee the worst rate of disposable household income growth out of any parliament over the last seven decades. Brits’ will only receive a 0.5 per cent jump in their real incomes under Boris Johnson’s government, research by the economic think tank the Resolution Foundation has found. A combination of severe [...]
UK businesses jack up prices at record pace amid cost onslaught November 3, 2021 UK services businesses are hiking prices at the fastest pace in history to cope with an onslaught of swelling costs. A vortex of soaring energy, fuel and staffing costs lured services firms to jack up prices in a bid to survive an assault on their margins, according to a closely watched survey. More to follow.
BMW beats expectations with rising third quarter profits as electric vehicle sales soar November 3, 2021 German manufacturing giant BMW has reported third quarter net quarter profits of EUR 2.58 billion, surpassing analysts’ expectations with a 42.4 per cent year on year increase during the three-month window. The outperformance in profits is powered by rocketing sales of electric vehicles and higher car prices. BMW has now reported an operating profit (EBIT) [...]
Brace for rate hikes and tapering from BoE and Fed November 3, 2021 Just as the dust settled on Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s third budget, the City turned its attention to more set piece economic announcements. Today and tomorrow, the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England will deliver two of the most hotly awaited interest rate decisions in years. The latter is expected to hike interest rates [...]
Small UK businesses drown in swelling costs November 3, 2021 Small British businesses are drowning in swelling costs and are struggling to fulfil orders. Unit costs in the three months to October rose at the fastest pace on record, research by the Confederation for British Industry (CBI) has found. Eight in 10 small firms think costs will accelerate over the next quarter, indicating consumers may [...]
Sunak hails avoiding joblessness spike after furlough end November 2, 2021 The end of the furlough scheme is unlikely to trigger a surge in unemployment, according to the Chancellor. Speaking to a committee of members of the House of Lords, Rishi Sunak said he was “optimistic” the end of the job support scheme would not result in a wave of job losses. There were concerns the [...]
End of furlough ‘has not led to surge in jobseekers’ November 2, 2021 The end of the multi-billion-pound furlough wage subsidy has not led to a surge in new job-seekers, according to data that suggests unemployment is unlikely to rise sharply and may bolster the case for a Bank of England interest rate hike. Data by recruitment website Indeed, seen by Reuters ahead of publication, shows only a [...]
Sunak comes out fighting in defence of tax hikes and spending spree November 1, 2021 Tory Chancellor Rishi Sunak has defended his decision to swell the tax burden to its highest level in decades. Responding to a grilling from fellow MPs on the Treasury Committee, Sunak said last week’s bumper budget spending spree was designed to deliver on a “bunch of commitments” the government promised to achieve. The Chancellor’s decision [...]
Spate of downbeat economic news knocks UK business confidence November 1, 2021 The spate of negative news about the health of the UK economy has knocked businesses’ confidence. A combination of supply chain snarl ups, soaring inflation, severe worker shortages and uncertainty over the trajectory of Covid-19 has pulled confidence levels back from highs of 27 per cent in June, research by the Institute of Directors (IoD) [...]