UK interest rate rise: what it means for you
How the new base rate of 4.25% might affect mortgages, house prices and credit cards Business live – latest updates Analysis: Is this the end of interest rate rises? Bank of England raises interest rates to 4.25% The Bank of England has yet again raised interest rates, this time by 0.25 percentage points, taking the […]
Why does the UK have highest inflation in G7 and is Brexit a factor?
Britain appears to be an international outlier after the shock reading in double digits this week Live coverage: Inflation jumps as cost of living crisis intensifies UK inflation rate in surprise rise to 10.4% Inflation calculator: find out how much price rises affect you Britain has the highest inflation rate in the G7, as the […]
Central banks must keep interest rates high to combat inflation, says OECD
Organisation also says UK will be only G20 economy apart from Russia to shrink this year Central banks should maintain the fight against inflation with high interest rates despite fears of a global banking crash, according to the OECD, which said the UK will be the only economy in the G20 apart from Russia to […]
Budget: UK on track for ‘disastrous decade’ of income stagnation
Thinktank says taxes as share of GDP are on course to reach 70-year high but public services are being cut Budget 2023: key points at a glance The UK remains on track for a “disastrous decade” of stagnant incomes and high taxes, despite cuts to public services, the Resolution Foundation has said in its analysis […]
UK house prices could be stabilising despite falls, say surveyors
Rics data for February shows improvement in new buyer inquiries and sales The UK housing market remains in decline but there are some signs of stabilisation, with an improvement in new buyer inquiries and sales last month, according to surveyors. Many told the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) that a return of optimism, and […]
UK housing market ‘resilient’ as prices rise 1.1% in February; Greggs warns of rising costs – business live
House prices rose unexpectedly last month, but cautions that “the underlying activity continues to indicate a general downward trend” UK shoppers slash spending as price rises and energy bills bite Greggs has reported that its move to open some bakeries later into the evening is paying off. Greggs extended the opening hours of 500 shops […]
UK house prices rise as mortgage rate cuts lift confidence
Average monthly increase of 1.1% to £285,476 in February, after falls in previous two months, says Halifax UK house prices picked up in February from the previous month as recent reductions in mortgage rates helped to stabilise the market, according to the lender Halifax. The average house price rose 1.1% to £285,476 last month compared […]
UK shoppers slash spending as price rises and energy bills bite
February figures from BRC highlight impact of cost of living crisis on British economy before budget UK consumers sharply cut back their spending in February as soaring living costs damaged household finances, retailers have warned, despite strong sales of jewellery and fragrances for Valentine’s Day. Highlighting the impact of the cost of living crisis on […]
Want to properly plug the UK’s north-south divide? Look to Germany | Larry Elliott
Boosting spending power, increasing public funding for science and tech skills, R&D and infrastructure could work Britain has been struggling to find a solution to its north-south divide since the staple industries of the Industrial Revolution – textiles and coal – started to decline in the early 20th century. It is not a unique problem. […]
Women in UK ‘more likely than men to be on low pay and struggling’
Half a million more women than men are paid below real living wage and 13% are on zero-hours contracts Half a million more working women are paid below the real living wage than their male counterparts, according to data from the Living Wage Foundation. It says women have been harder hit by the cost of […]