European Central Bank leaves rates negative despite inflation hitting record high March 10, 2022 The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged in negative territory today despite inflation on the Continent running at a record high. President Christine Lagarde and co kept borrowing costs at minus 0.5 per cent, where they have been for several years, sticking with its more dovish stance toward monetary policy. The ECB has been [...]
Ukraine war backfires as Russia’s economy is expected to take dramatic 10 per cent hit this year March 10, 2022 Analysts this morning revised their economic forecast for Russia in light of international sanctions imposed following the invasion of Ukraine. Experts at the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) said they expect economic activity to be severely disrupted with both domestic demand and the external sector taking a hit. “While the full impact of international sanctions and [...]
DS Smith: What inflation? Amazon partner shrugs off rising costs March 10, 2022 DS Smith reported its latest results this morning, which were largely in-line with expectations. The group’s been able to fully offset rising costs with price increases and volume growth. The impact of rising energy costs has been mitigated by improved efficiency and a hedging strategy. Full year like-for-like volume growth is expected to be in [...]
Wages continue to surge amid tightening jobs market March 10, 2022 Strong competition for workers amid a tight jobs market is accelerating starting pay at near record highs, reveals a fresh survey published today. A shortage of available workers is driving businesses to hike pay to out muscle competitors from poaching top talent, according to research from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG. Starting [...]
Russia-Ukraine war to take tax cuts off the table, IFS warns March 10, 2022 Even higher inflation triggered by Russia invading Ukraine will take promised tax cuts off the table, a leading think tank warned today. Surging energy prices driven by concerns over the security of oil and gas supplies amid a ramping up in tensions between Moscow and the West will eat into Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s room to [...]
London’s top indexes snap back sharply after bruising sessions March 9, 2022 London’s top indexes snapped back yesterday after booking heavy losses due to fears over the economic fallout of the Russia-Ukraine war sending investors fleeing. The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index soared 2.79 per cent to above 7,000 points, while the domestically-focused FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, [...]
How stock markets perform after heavy falls March 9, 2022 | City Talk While public attention has understandably focused on the grave humanitarian consequences of the invasion of Ukraine, global markets have reflected investors’ concerns about financial and economic impacts. Our live blog on the Ukraine crisis will be updated regularly throughout the week, it can be found here. To date the current crisis has seen major markets fall [...]
As cost of living crisis rages, Extinction Rebellion plots to block oil refineries across the UK next month March 9, 2022 Extinction Rebellion has announced plans to block major UK oil refineries in April. The direct action group said it intends to “stop the harm at the source” as part of its campaign to force the Government to stop the fossil fuel economy. The protest group Just Stop Oil will also be blocking refineries across the [...]
Fitch warns investors to brace for heavy losses on Russian debt as default looms March 9, 2022 One of the world’s top credit rating agencies has told investors in Russian debt to brace for severe losses. Fitch last night downgraded Moscow sovereign debt to a C rating, meaning the risk of a Russian default is “imminent”. President Vladimir Putin’s decision to order all interest payments on sovereign government debt held by foreign [...]
Inflation to accelerate far ahead of Bank of England’s target as rate hikes loom March 8, 2022 Inflation in the UK will soar far above the Bank of England’s target this year as the Russia-Ukraine war drives energy prices to record highs. Accelerating prices will hit “almost all businesses and consumers” this year and choke economic growth, Thomas Pugh, an economist at RSM, warned today, adding that the cost of living could [...]