Interest rate boon for UK banks coming to an end despite BoE’s 25 basis point hike May 11, 2023 Banks have been revelling in the BoE’s sharp rate hikes, but today’s 25 basis point hike – which brings interest rates to 4.5 per cent – is unlikely to improve banks’ bottom line significantly, analysts said. Increasing competition and regulatory pressure means banks will likely have to pass on more of the rate hike – [...]
Bank of England ditches any threat of recession in biggest GDP upgrade since 1997 independence May 11, 2023 Any threat of a recession in Britain this year and over the medium term has today been scrapped by the Bank of England in what was the largest upgrade to the central bank’s GDP projections since it was made independent in 1997. The UK economy is now tipped to broadly flatline this year and start [...]
Bank of England to usher in new era of higher interest rates after sending them to near 15-year high today May 11, 2023 The Bank of England will rip up the monetary policy order of the last decade and keep interest rates far above their post-financial crisis rock bottom levels over the coming years, new forecasts out today claim. UK borrowing costs are on course to top four per cent for the whole of this year and next [...]
FTSE 100 close: ASOS shares nosedive 22 per cent after posting dim results May 10, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 slipped in the City today as online fashion retailer ASOS was pummelled after a dim set of results. The capital’s premier index shed 0.29 per cent to close at 7,741.32 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, lost 0.15 per [...]
FTSE 100 close: Barclays and NatWest rise on London index as stalling house prices knock builders May 9, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 kick started a fresh week down today, with Britain’s biggest home builders sliding after new figures showed house price growth has stalled. The capital’s premier index nudged 0.18 per cent lower to 7,764.10 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, [...]
Why you should never, ever bet against UK house prices May 9, 2023 Remember the start of the year? “UK house prices have gone into sharp reverse over recent months. And we expect that elevated mortgage rates will result in at least a 12 per cent price correction,” so said Capital Economics at the time. This is from building society Nationwide last week: “While annual house price growth [...]
Bank of England to hike interest rates for 12th time in a row and forecast falling inflation May 9, 2023 The Bank of England is poised to intensify the strain on households and businesses’ finances by hiking interest rates for the 12th time in a row this Thursday in a bid to bring down inflation, City analysts are betting. Threadneedle Street’s nine-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), the group tasked with setting official borrowing costs in [...]
Booming services sector steers UK economy further away from recession May 9, 2023 Britain’s economy is running at its strongest level in nearly a year, powered by households still splashing the cash amid the cost of living crisis in another sign the country will skirt a recession. A new survey out last night from consultancy BDO revealed output growth in the UK reached its highest level in eight [...]
UK to officially avoid recession in first half of this year as Bank of England readies twelfth straight interest rate rise May 8, 2023 Britain is set to have officially avoided a recession in the first half of this year in a sharp turnaround in fortunes for the country’s economy, figures out this week are expected to reveal. Gross domestic product (GDP), which measures the amount of goods and services produced in the UK, is anticipated to have risen [...]
US unemployment figures ‘confound expectations’ with 50 year jobless low, raising spectre of more Fed rate rises May 5, 2023 US employers went on a hiring spree in April while raising wages for workers at the same time, according to the Labour Department. The news that nonfarm payrolls increased by 253,000 jobs last month immediately sparked speculation that the US central bank the Federal Reserve could maintain its current policy of keeping rates higher. The [...]