US Federal Reserve to hike rates for first time in over three years March 14, 2022 The US Federal Reserve will hike interest rates for the first time in over three years on Wednesday as the central bank takes the first step in shifting policy from supporting the American economy through the pandemic to taming runaway inflation. Fed Chair Jerome Powell and the rest of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) [...]
EU demands billions from UK as ‘Made in China’ row widens: Britain accused of flouting Brexit rules March 14, 2022 The European Union is demanding £2.5bn in compensation from Britain for failing to apply customs rules to Chinese imports. The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that the UK was “negligent” in applying EU customs and import rules between 2011 and 2017, which has led to lost revenues for the EU. The [...]
Isolated Kremlin in overdrive as Russia pounds Kyiv while Putin arrests own security chiefs and begs China for new weapons March 14, 2022 Russia’s military forces have kept up their punishing campaign to capture Ukraine’s capital with fighting and artillery fire in Kyiv’s suburbs. It comes after an air strike on a military base near the Polish border brought the war close to Nato’s doorstep overnight. It raised the possibility that the alliance could be drawn into the [...]
Russian economy to lose nearly third of its value March 14, 2022 Russia’s economy will be plunged into turmoil this year as a result of the country being frozen out of the global economy in retaliation to Moscow invading Ukraine. The country’s output will tumble around 30 per cent this year, far worse than the amount it lost during the financial crisis, according to forecasts by the [...]
UK underwriting vacancies hit record highs in 2021 as insurers sought to revisit policies March 14, 2022 The number of vacancies for underwriting positions hit all-time highs in 2021, following a surge in hiring last year, as insurers sought to protect themselves against the potential for ruinous “black swan” events in the wake of the global pandemic. All in all, a record 2,100 underwriting vacancies were advertised last year, according to new [...]
Retail and hospitality face growing army of whistleblowers reporting national minimum wage breaches March 14, 2022 The number of whistleblower reports relating to alleged National Minimum Wage breaches in the retail sector saw a 37 per cent jump in the past year, according to new data shared with Morning Wire this morning. Figures show that 235 complaints were made in 2020 to 2021, up from 171 in the previous year, 2019 [...]
200,000 barrels a day: BP joins forces with Eni to create Angola’s largest oil and gas producer March 14, 2022 BP and Eni told Morning Wire in an email that they have signed an agreement to form a new 50/50 independent company, Azule Energy through the combination of the two companies’ Angolan businesses. The agreement follows a memorandum of understanding between the companies agreed in May 2021. Azule Energy will be a new international energy [...]
Russia-Ukraine war raises spectre of UK recession March 14, 2022 Russia’s invasion of Ukraine risks plunging the UK economy into recession by propelling inflation to historic levels, according to a new report released today. Soaring food and energy prices triggered by the conflict could send the cost of living for the poorest households in the UK above 10 per cent, research published today by the [...]
Government needs to step up support for small firms at spring statement March 14, 2022 The government needs to step up support for small businesses to turbo charge the UK economy at this month’s spring statement, according to Britain’s top small firm representative body. Small businesses need support to cope with huge increases in raw material and staffing costs, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). The organisation today [...]
Sunak: UK businesses need to urgently cut links with Russia March 13, 2022 More British businesses need to urgently cut any ties with Russia to “inflict maximum economic pain – and to stop further bloodshed,” Chancellor Rishi Sunak urged today. Western blue-chips have been severing ties with Moscow in a combined effort to freeze Russia out of the global economy. The likes of Shell and BP are in [...]