Consumer price index exceeds economists’ expectations as Fed weighs when to start cutting borrowing costs
Inflation ticked higher in the United States last month as the Federal Reserve weighs the latest stage of its battle against price growth.
The headline consumer price index increased at an annual pace of 3.4% in December, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, up from 3.1% in the previous month, and exceeding economists’ expectations of about 3.2%.
Continue reading...Reduced cost pressures and popular festive bakes and chocolate orange muffins boost bakery chain
Greggs has hailed easing inflationary pressures after the UK’s biggest bakery chain rang up bumper Christmas sales amid less travel disruption and enthusiasm for seasonal specialities such as festive bakes and chocolate orange muffins.
The company said sales at established stores had risen 9.4% in the three months to 30 December as it attracted more customers with extended opening hours and by offering online ordering.
Continue reading...December data comes amid speculation over when European Central Bank will cut interest rates
Inflation across the eurozone rose in December after an increase in energy costs, reversing six months of consecutive falls and easing the pressure on the European Central Bank (ECB) to cut interest rates.
Figures from the EU statistical agency Eurostat showed consumer prices across the 20-country bloc rose at an annual rate of 2.9% last month, up from 2.4% in November. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a slightly higher reading of 3% for December.
Continue reading...Albanese government would need to couple any increases in unemployment benefits and pensions with savings, experts say
Addressing competition issues and increasing unemployment benefits and pensions are ways the Albanese government could tackle cost-of-living pressures but they would have to be coupled with savings to avoid reigniting inflation, economists say.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, on Wednesday said he had asked Treasury and the finance department to develop “further propositions” for providing cost-of-living relief by the May budget.
Continue reading...Drivers in Brisbane bear brunt of record petrol prices this year – ‘only now are we starting to see some relief’
Australian motorists are copping the cost of volatile world oil prices but relief could be in sight.
Drivers in Brisbane bore the brunt of record petrol prices this year, making the Queensland city the nation’s most expensive capital to put fuel in the tank. Regular unleaded cost on average 193.4 cents a litre, an NRMA analysis of 2023 petrol prices across the country revealed.
Continue reading...Annual card spending report says consumers are prioritising travel and nights out and buying value-range groceries amid cost of living crisis
Hard-pressed consumers cut back on eating out and buying new clothes to prioritise spending on travel, entertainment and a visit to the pub over the past year, as soaring inflation and rising bills sharply curtailed the rate of spending growth.
Consumer card spending increased by 4.1% year-on-year in 2023, almost two-thirds lower than the 10.6% rise in 2022, as the sharp increase in the cost of living took its toll on households.
Continue reading...UK economic prospects are bleak but an agenda-setting fiscal event such as sweeping tax cuts in March offers another roll of the dice
To grasp the nettle, or wait in the hope that things somehow miraculously improve. This is the choice Rishi Sunak will be weighing for the next general election, as the Conservatives limp towards the finishing line of another challenging year.
After Jeremy Hunt announced the government would hold an earlier than anticipated budget, with a date set for 6 March, the possibility of a poll in May, in the afterglow of some electioneering tax cuts, is clearly being given considerable thought.
Continue reading...Firm says it is weighing up options to secure product availability amid Yemeni rebel attacks on shipping
Ikea has warned that the disruption to global trade caused by Yemeni rebel attacks in the Red Sea could delay its deliveries and affect availability of some products.
The world’s largest furniture company said it was “evaluating other supply options to secure the availability of our products” after many big shipping companies stopped sending vessels through the Suez canal in response to the attacks by Houthi militants’ protests against the Israel-Gaza war.
Continue reading...Forecast-beating drop in November takes rate to lowest level in more than two years
Britain’s two-year cost of living crisis eased last month as cheaper petrol and less expensive food helped send the annual inflation rate sharply lower to 3.9% – its second big monthly fall in succession.
In a much bigger decline than had been anticipated by economists, the annual rate of price rises fell from 4.6% in October to its lowest level since September 2021.
Continue reading...Food prices were 29% higher last month than in September 2021, leaving many households still under pressure
At last, UK inflation has fallen far and fast enough to start to match countries such as France, where the annual rate of price rises has reduced at a faster pace this year.
At 3.9% last month, the headline figure remains almost double the 2% target set for the Bank of England but significantly lower than the 11.1% peak in October last year and below the 5.3% target Rishi Sunak set for the end of 2023.
Continue reading...This online tool will help you discover what is contributing to your household’s cost of living increases
Inflation has been soaring in the UK, with people being hit by higher prices for everyday essentials, but cost of living pressures are finally starting to ease.
The latest inflation rate for the 12 months to November 2023 means that goods and services cost 3.9% more than they did a year ago – in most cases, surpassing any pay rises workers can expect to receive.
Continue reading...President Javier Milei and his allies are preparing new security guidelines in anticipation of protests against currency devaluation
Human rights activists in Argentina have expressed consternation over new security guidelines to crack down on an anticipated wave of protests after the incoming government of libertarian president Javier Milei devalued the country’s currency by more than 50%.
Protesting individuals and organizations will be identified with “video, digital or manual means” – and then billed for the cost of sending security forces to police their demonstrations, said Milei’s security minister, Patricia Bullrich, as she announced the new protocol on Thursday.
“The state is not going to pay for the use of the security forces; organizations that have legal status will have to pay or individuals will have to bear the cost,” Bullrich said.
Interest rates will need to stay high for sufficiently long to return inflation to 2% target
The Bank of England has said Britain is facing a tougher job to crush persistently high inflation than other advanced nations, as it kept interest rates on hold at the highest level since the 2008 financial crisis.
Pushing back against expectations in financial markets for a deep round of interest rate cuts next year, the central bank said there was still a long way to go before it could declare victory on inflation, despite a worsening outlook for the UK’s stagnant economy.
Continue reading...Strong growth in earnings has been driven by increases in cost of living, says Resolution Foundation
Bank of England concerns over the high level of pay awards are likely to be eased in the coming months as wage settlements fall in response to a tumbling annual inflation rate, a thinktank has said.
The Resolution Foundation said recent strong growth in earnings was primarily caused by a sharp increase in the cost of living, with workers trying to prevent their living standards being eroded.
Continue reading...Vacancies declining as growth falters, recruiters’ body tells Bank of England
Britain’s largest recruiters have warned the Bank of England that demand for permanent hiring among UK businesses has plunged at the second fastest rate since the pandemic, amid worsening headwinds for the UK economy.
Ahead of the central bank’s decision on interest rates on 14 December, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) trade body said lingering economic uncertainty and hesitancy to commit to new hires had weighed on activity in November.
Continue reading...The weak economy probably means the next RBA rates move – short of an inflation surprise next month – will be a cut
Philip Lowe used his final speech as Reserve Bank governor to call on fiscal policy to “provide a stronger helping hand” in managing inflation so the central bank didn’t have to carry most of the load – and the ire.
“Raising interest rates and tightening policy can make you very unpopular, as I know all too well,” Lowe said on 7 September, 10 days before many battling borrowers cheered him out the door.
Continue reading...Richard Walker calls for price cap on infant formula as competition watchdog finds evidence of greedflation
The boss of Iceland has hit out at “exploitation” of new parents and joined calls for a price cap on baby formula after the competition watchdog found evidence of greedflation by leading manufacturers.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on Wednesday revealed manufacturers had increased prices by more than their costs during the inflation crisis, fattening profit margins and imposing an average 25% increase on shoppers in two years. It warned competition could be hampered because the market is dominated by two companies, Danone and Nestlé, which between them account for 85% of sales.
Continue reading...Rolling coverage of business as US revises up GDP growth in third quarter to fastest pace of 2023
At lunchtime in the UK and western Europe markets are fairly flat all around.
The UK’s benchmark FTSE 100 has barely moved, although grocery delivery company Ocado is the top gainer, up 4.8%. (An Ocado director buying shares may have helped.) Trainer retailer JD Sports was the second biggest, up 4.5%.
These allegations are false, not true, incorrect, are not accurate. And it’s an attempt to undermine the work of the COP28 presidency,
I promise you, never ever did I see these talking points that they refer to or that I ever even used such talking points in my discussions.
Continue reading...Stance on inflation poses threat to ‘soft landing’ forecast for global economy, says OECD
Continued tough action by central banks to tackle stubborn inflation risks tipping Britain and other developed countries into recession next year, the west’s leading economic thinktank has warned.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said the chances of policymakers getting it wrong were “pretty high” and posed a threat to its central “soft landing” forecast for the global economy.
Continue reading...Report quantifies UK food inflation caused by extreme weather reducing global crop yields since end of 2021
Food bills in the UK have risen by £605 a year for the average household because of the effects of climate breakdown, according to research.
Floods and droughts, which scientists have said were probably exacerbated by global heating, have reduced crop yields over the past two years, said the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), a nonprofit organisation.
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