UK inflation drops but food price rises remain close to 45-year high – business live
Rolling, live coverage of business, economics and financial markets as analysts expect drop in consumer price index inflation Rachel Reeves, Labour’s shadow chancellor, is focusing on food prices (as did her Conservative counterpart). But it is the core inflation number that is catching the eye of many analysts. Continue reading…
Private renters ‘almost twice as likely to struggle with debt as UK general population’
Charity says stronger protections are needed or people will be left vulnerable to ‘hair-trigger evictions’ Private renters are almost twice as likely to be struggling with problem levels of debt as the general population, with a sharp rise in the numbers in serious financial difficulty since January, research shows. The figures come against a backdrop […]
UK households with communal heating facing 350% rise in energy costs
Surge in energy costs filtering through to low-income households on shared heat networks Lambeth council tenants ‘in precarious position’ after 350% service charge rise Residents in council homes and private flats with communal heating systems are experiencing a “nightmare” rise in their energy bills, with households scrambling to fund increases of up to 350%. An […]
British supermarkets report shortages of peppers as Morrisons rations sales
Retailer limits purchases to two a customer after cold snap in Europe hits supplies British supermarkets are running short of peppers after a cold snap in Europe, leading some to limit the number customers can purchase. In a repeat of the shortages of salad crops in February and March, another bout of unseasonably cold weather […]
Jeremy Hunt has left the UK to rot in poverty. So we must take matters into our own hands | Gordon Brown
With hygiene banks now joining food banks and clothes banks, I’m calling on retailers to take drastic action and help their poorest customers Poverty will last until doomsday if this Conservative government is all that confronts it. The so-called “budget for growth”, more accurately titled the “budget for growth in poverty”, has done nothing for […]
Bank of England boss urges firms to hold back price rises or risk higher rates
Andrew Bailey says interest rates will have to rise again unless inflation falls Wetherspoon’s boss: hospitality holding off price rises could be ‘catastrophic’ The Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, has called on businesses to hold back price rises, telling them that interest rates will need to rise again unless inflation falls. Bailey, who was […]
Bank of England chief warns of further interest rate hikes if firms raise prices – business live
Andrew Bailey appeals to businesses to avoid price rises because higher inflation ‘hurts least well-off in society’ Stock markets are in the red again, with the FTSE 100 index down 67 points, or 0.9%, at 7,431. Germany’s Dax has lost 133 points, or 0.9%, to 15,076 while France’s CAC fell 65 points, or 0.9% to […]
Studio flats for sale – in pictures
From a historic art deco ‘bachelor’s pied-á-terre’ in the heart of Chelsea, to one of Manchester’s coolest geometric glass creations Continue reading…
UK households ‘spent 12% more on essentials in February than year earlier’
Almost four in 10 people have to use credit cards to cover such costs, says Nationwide Inflation and rising bills mean UK households are spending 12% more on essentials than they were a year ago, with almost four in 10 people having to use credit cards to cover these costs, new data shows. Two days […]
Bank of England raises UK interest rates by quarter-point to 4.25%
Monetary policy committee votes to increase base rate after February’s surprise rise in inflation Business live – latest updates Analysis: Is this the end of interest rate rises? What the interest rate rise means for you The Bank of England has raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.25% in response […]