The writer is author of ‘Two Hundred Years of Muddling Through: The Surprising Story of the British Economy’ The Bank of England’s new forecasts make for exceptionally grim reading. In recent months the bank’s governor Andrew Bailey has warned that the institution is walking “a narrow path” between the risks of continuing high inflation and
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UK government bond yields fell on Friday as traders shifted their expectations that the world’s largest central banks would prioritise tackling inflation ahead of economic growth. The yield on the benchmark 10-year gilt yield fell 0.02 percentage points to trade at 1.90 per cent in early trading as investors digested Thursday’s news that the UK
The average rate for the most popular type of mortgage in the U.S. fell below 5% for the first time in four months, capping the biggest two-week decline in 35 years. The national average rate for a 30-year fixed home loan dropped almost a third of a percentage point to 4.99% this week from 5.3%,
The US economy unexpectedly added 528,000 jobs last month, as payroll growth soared even in the face of tighter monetary policy and waning fiscal support, easing fears of a recession. The data, which showed the unemployment rate edging down to 3.5 per cent from 3.6 per cent, showed an acceleration in the pace of job
monkeybusinessimages | iStock | Getty Images It’s no secret that companies are reducing their real estate footprint. Even companies still committed to in-office work, but embracing a hybrid model, require less square footage and more use of shared office space. Now as the economy cools, and at least flirts with entering a recession, real estate
Joan Laporta is not one to mince his words. The president of FC Barcelona claimed in June that the club had been “clinically dead” when he took the reins in March last year, but that it had now moved to intensive care after some emergency financial surgery. His goal was to convince those in front
There’s a lot of speculation lately about whether the U.S. is officially in a recession. Both President Joe Biden and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said we’re not there just yet, pointing to the strong labor market and rising wages. The official declaration typically comes from the National Bureau of Economic Research, and it has
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe studies the thick menu, leafing through its pages in search of the various tastes she is craving. There’s an aubergine platter that she’s had before and wants to try again, a squid tempura, a spinach salad and the black cod with miso, which she tells me is unmissable. Although it is just the
In this article BAC RKT WFC JPM SAN-ES A sign hangs from a branch of Banco Santander in London, U.K., on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010. Simon Dawson | Bloomberg via Getty Images Banks and other mortgage providers have been battered by plunging demand for loans this year, a consequence of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate
Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has rejected claims from Conservative MPs that the UK’s central bank acted too slowly to tackle surging inflation and defended its operational independence and mandate. Asked on Friday about whether he would remain in post no matter what changes were implemented by the successor to outgoing prime minister Boris
This article is an on-site version of our Inside Politics newsletter. Sign up here to get the newsletter sent straight to your inbox every weekday. The biggest and most important story in the UK at the moment, full stop, is just how grim the economic picture is. That is true for politics, too. Some thoughts
China’s military has sent planes and warships to probe Taiwan’s defences for a second day, escalating a crisis that has prompted one of the island’s richest men to donate millions of dollars to its security. Taiwan’s defence ministry said on Friday that multiple groups of Chinese warplanes and warships had been operating in the area
The battle between Asia and Europe to lock in gas supplies is stepping up a gear, heightening the risks of a further surge in prices that would add fresh fuel to the cost of living crisis. Japan and South Korea, the world’s second and third-biggest importers of liquefied natural gas, are looking to secure supplies
Oh, poor fund managers. Why the long faces? July was great! The S&P 500 put in its best performance since late 2020, with a 9 per cent rally. It was one of the best months in the market of all time. Sure, the withdrawal of largesse by the world’s most important central banks introduces a
Need to know which way any US election will go? Dave Wasserman is your man. The nerdish political analyst devotes hours to sifting through the granular data of minor races before declaring on Twitter: “I’ve seen enough”. The same can probably be said in the race between Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak to be the
Ireland is contemplating levying a windfall energy tax in the 2023 budget next month given “significant profits” made by companies in the sector, prime minister Micheál Martin said. “The government will consider a range of issues and will give examination to the issue of a windfall tax,” he told reporters on Thursday, adding that companies
Liz Truss, the Tory leadership frontrunner, claimed on Thursday that she can avert a recession if she becomes prime minister, on the day the Bank of England warned that Britain was facing a protracted downturn. Truss has promised immediate tax cuts if she wins the contest, and told a Sky News leadership debate that the
The Federal Reserve is committed to cooling inflation and needs to raise interest rates to a little above 4% to ease demand, Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester said. “We’re committed to getting inflation down” to the 2% target, which will require more rate increases, Mester said during an event hosted by the Economic
An Oklahoma regulatory official, who has raised concerns about the impact of the state’s first utility securitization bond sale on ratepayers, on Thursday called for an independent assessment of the pricing as three other deals are pending. Bob Anthony, one of three commissioners at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC), continued to question the July 8
Municipals were mostly steady as mutual fund inflows topped $1 billion, while U.S. Treasuries were firmer in most spots and equities were mixed near the close. Investors poured $1.094 billion into municipal bond mutual funds in the latest week, versus the $236.491 million of inflows the week prior, per Refinitiv Lipper data reported Thursday. It
Harvey, Illinois,officials are working to overcome remaining hurdles to conduct a bond exchange offer that would remove its general obligation debt from default status and honor a legal consent agreement with a group of bondholders. The Chicago suburb’s City Council recently passed an ordinance authorizing up to $36.5 million of borrowing that paves the way