Cut interest rates, Morning Wire Shadow MPC tells Bank of England December 17, 2025 The Bank of England should cut interest rates by 25 basis points when it meets tomorrow, Morning Wire’s Shadow Monetary Policy Committee has said in a three-way split decision. In the face of the dual problems of high inflation and a continued jobs market decline, the majority of experts on Morning Wire’s nine-strong Shadow MPC [...]
Interest rates: Bank of England hawks to ‘look through’ Budget’s disinflation December 9, 2025 Bank of England policymakers struck a hawkish tone on the future path of interest rates despite acknowledging that the upcoming Budget would lower inflation. Appearing before MPs on the Treasury Select Committee, Bank staff analysis agreed with the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) that measures in Rachel Reeves’ November statement would strip 0.5 percentage points [...]
Lavazza: Profit doubles amid ‘unprecedented’ price rises September 22, 2025 Profit at coffee brand Lavazza doubled in the UK during its latest financial year as it battled “intense pressure” on its supply chain and “unprecedented” price rises. The Uxbridge-headquartered division has posted a pre-tax profit of £3.2m for 2024, up from the £1.5m it achieved in 2023. New accounts filed with Companies House also show [...]
Bank of England may face lower inflation despite ‘Oasis bump’ August 18, 2025 Bank of England forecasts on inflation for July could be too high despite suggestions Oasis concerts could make prices jump, forecasters have said. The Bank’s last Monetary Policy Report took a gloomy view on the state of the UK economy as it claimed inflation would hit 3.8 per cent in the month of July. But [...]
Rachel Reeves told to ‘get out of the way’ ahead of Autumn Budget August 13, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been told to “let businesses get on with it and get out of the way” ahead of delivering her second Autumn Budget in the coming months. A group of 1,500 private business leaders surveyed by KPMG said the Chancellor should focus on promoting higher wages and lower costs for companies. They [...]
Inflation eases in March amid looming Bank decision April 16, 2025 Inflation remained stubbornly high at 2.6 per cent in March, official data has shown, leaving Bank of England policymakers with a difficult decision to make on interest rates early next month. The year-on-year increase in consumer price inflation (CPI) was lower than the 2.7 per cent figure forecast in a Bloomberg poll of economists. The [...]
Blackpool Pleasure Beach to close rides as costs spiral March 24, 2025 High inflation, interest rates and “significant increases” in the minimum wage have made turning a profit “harder to achieve”, the owner of Blackpool Pleasure Beach has said as it fell back into the red. The attraction, which dates back to 1896, also said the rising costs will force it to close some rides this year [...]
Bank of England expected to hold rates as inflation persists March 17, 2025 The Bank of England is widely expected to hold interest rates steady at 4.5 per cent this week as wage growth and inflation data remains sticky. Most analysts are expecting a seven to two vote in favour of a hold from the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee, with external members Swati Dhingra and Catherine Mann voting [...]
Bank of England warns ‘age of uncertainty’ stopping rapid rate cuts March 5, 2025 An “age of uncertainty”, especially over the path of inflation, means that rapid interest rate cuts are unlikely to be coming to the UK, top Bank of England officials have said. Huw Pill, chief economist at the Bank of England, said the central bank was unlikely to make “larger and more rapid cuts to interest [...]
Oak Furnitureland battles rising costs as sales cut March 3, 2025 Oak Furnitureland remains in the red as a catalogue of issues impacted its sales during its latest financial year. The Swindon-headquartered retailer has revealed its revenue fell by 17 per cent to £236m in the 12 months to the end of June 2024 because of “a soft market, the Red Sea disruption and the subsequent [...]