City split following Bank of England’s interest rate decision February 7, 2025 Analysts are divided about how far and how fast the Bank of England is likely to cut interest rates in the remainder of this year following yesterday’s decision. Rate-setters backed a third 25 basis point rate reduction, which brought the Bank Rate down to an 18-month low of 4.5 per cent. Every member of the [...]
Lloyds places thousands of jobs under review in tech overhaul February 7, 2025 Lloyds Banking Group has placed thousands of jobs in its IT division under review as the lender races to beef up its engineering teams and modernise its digital banking offer, Morning Wire can reveal. The FTSE 100 bank told some 6,000 tech and engineering staff on Wednesday that their jobs may be at risk of [...]
Stagflation: Chancellor Rachel Reeves faces mess of her own making February 7, 2025 The Bank now expects the UK economy to grow 0.7 per cent this year, cut from a previous estimate of 1.5 per cent. Inflation, meanwhile, will hit 3.7 per cent later this year.
The FCA’s bond market reforms don’t go far enough February 7, 2025 The FCAs plans to make it easier for companies to issue smaller bonds are a step in the right direction, but if the UK truly wants to unlock its corporate bond market for retail investors, more must be done, says Tim Focas The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) plans to cut red tape around the corporate [...]
What the Bank of England interest rate cut means for your money February 6, 2025 Consumers need “careful financial planning in the months ahead” after the Bank of England cut interest rates on Thursday, wealth manager Quilter has warned. Financial planner at Quilter Holly Tomlinson said the 25 basis point cut will be “good news” for borrowers, whilst savers will be stung by lower returns on deposits. Tomlinson said: “Banks [...]
Why the Bank of England slashed its growth forecasts February 6, 2025 The Bank of England delivered Chancellor Rachel Reeves a mixed blessing on Thursday. Alongside cutting interest rates by 25 basis points, Bank officials halved the UK’s expected growth rate in 2025 to 0.7 per cent from a previous estimate of 1.5 per cent. This will come as a blow to Reeves, who has staked her [...]
Free market groups welcome nuclear power planning reform February 6, 2025 Free market groups have welcomed the government’s plans to reform planning rules around building nuclear power plants as “excellent news”. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer today announced the overhaul in a bid to slash red tape, fast-track approvals for new reactors and create thousands of highly skilled jobs. Small modular reactors (SMRs) would be built [...]
FTSE 100 surges after Bank of England cuts interest rate February 6, 2025 The FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 surged higher today after the Bank of England moved to cut interest rates to 4.5 per cent in a bid to breathe life into Britain’s ailing economy. All of the Bank’s nine-strong monetary policy committee voted in favour of a reduction in rates, with two members of the group [...]
Bank of England cuts interest rates despite looming inflation surge February 6, 2025 The Bank of England cut interest rates by 25 basis points on Thursday, even though rate-setters expect to see a significant rise in inflation over the coming year. Seven members of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) backed the decision, while two – Swati Dhingra and Catherine Mann – voted for a larger 50 basis [...]
UK construction activity falls sharply as confidence plunges February 6, 2025 UK construction activity fell sharply in January, ending a 10-month streak of expansion as higher borrowing costs, gloomy economic prospects and weak client confidence hit the sector. S&P Global’s UK Construction Purchasing Managers Index fell to 48.1 last month, down from 53.3 in December and well below the 53.4 expected by analysts. “The overall construction [...]