Category Archives: Inflation

Man found dead after statewide search – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed.

Hostage release essential if truce to last, Paterson says

Rewinding to Liberal MP James Paterson’s appearance on RN Breakfast this morning, wheN he said more needs to be done to free the hostages Hamas is holding in Gaza.

We don’t know how many of them are still alive, and their continued release would be essential for any continuing ceasefire because otherwise Israel continues to have a legitimate military objective.

Continue reading...

OBR halves UK growth forecast and warns inflation will exceed 2% target until 2025

Posted on by

Despite £27bn windfall for the autumn statement, government forecaster warns of generally more difficult outlook until 2028

The government’s official forecaster has slashed its predictions for economic growth over the next two years, and warned that inflation could take until 2025 to come back to the official 2% target.

In an updated financial health check to accompany the autumn statement, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said a more resilient economy this year had handed the chancellor a £27bn budget windfall, but it warned of a more difficult outlook up to 2028 than previously forecast at the time of the budget in March.

Continue reading...

UK borrows less than expected this year as Hunt lines up giveaways

Posted on by

Chancellor says bringing down inflation remains one of his main aims as he prepares autumn statement

The UK government borrowed less than expected in the first seven months of the financial year as Jeremy Hunt puts the last-minute touches to a series of pre-election giveaways in his autumn statement on Wednesday.

Public sector borrowing between April and October was just above £98bn, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), and while this was £22bn higher than in the same period last year, it was almost £17bn less than the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast in March.

Continue reading...

Autumn statement will avoid tax cuts that promote inflation, pledges Hunt

Posted on by

Chancellor seeks to promote growth ahead of autumn statement that could spark a rebellion among Tory backbenchers defending marginal seats

Jeremy Hunt has played down the prospect of immediate income tax cuts, pledging not to do anything in this week’s autumn statement that will fuel inflation.

Although some Conservative backbenchers are eager for measures that would be quickly felt by households, the chancellor on Sunday sought to emphasise the need to promote growth and indicated that tax cuts were “not going to happen overnight”.

Continue reading...

Charities urge government not to ‘fiddle’ benefits increase after inflation hits two-year low – as it happened

Posted on by

Cost of living campaigners say government should use September’s inflation rate to set benefits, not October’s, after CPI falls to 4.6% from 6.7%

Falling energy bills, and the economic drag caused by higher interest rates, should get the credit for the drop in inflation.

That’s the view of Suren Thiru, economics director at ICAEW (The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales).

“This dramatic drop suggests that the UK has turned the corner in its battle against soaring inflation, particularly given the fall in core inflation, which indicates that underlying price pressures are also easing.

“While the Prime Minister has achieved his target to halve inflation this year, this owes more to the downward pressure on prices from falling energy costs and rising interest rates than any government action.

“The fall in inflation will come as some relief for families struggling with the cost of living.

“But now is not the time for Conservative ministers to be popping champagne corks and patting themselves on the back.

Continue reading...

Scrap stage-three tax cuts to fight inflation rather than cut infrastructure funding, Queensland says

Posted on by

Deputy premier Steven Miles says it’s ‘too late’ to cancel projects and any effect on demand is likely to be years away

The Queensland deputy premier has demanded that federal Labor explain why it is cutting infrastructure spending to fight inflation rather than revisiting controversial tax cuts for high income earners.

Steven Miles has upped the pressure on the Albanese government over looming infrastructure cuts in an opinion piece in the Courier-Mail, arguing it is “too late” to cut projects to fight inflation and urging it to reconsider stage-three tax cuts instead.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Eight more Australians leave West Bank – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed

Military deployment to Middle East will be for evacuation of Australians

Defence minister Richard Marles was asked on Today what the role of the aircraft and troops sent to the Middle East would be.

We’ve made our position really clear.

Israel has a right to defend itself and to move against Hamas. What is absolutely essential in doing that is that the protection from the centre and and all the steps that Israel takes, and that the rules of war are adhered to and we’ve been making that very clear, as well.

Continue reading...

Petrol prices spiked 7% in September quarter and there’s more pain to come, Australian treasurer suggests

Posted on by

Costs could rise as conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East worsens, Jim Chalmers warns

Australians are feeling the impact of inflation at the petrol pump with the latest data expected to show fuel prices rose by more than 7% in the three months to the end of September.

Treasury estimates the latest consumer price index data for the September quarter, to be released on Wednesday, will reveal the soaring cost of petrol brought on by global factors including the war in Ukraine, supply constraints and the weaker Australian dollar.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Portugal to scrap ‘unjust’ tax breaks for foreign residents

Posted on by

Low-tax scheme launched during financial crisis has stoked housing inflation that has drawn protests across country

Tax breaks for foreign residents in Portugal are “no longer justified”, the prime minister, Antonio Costa, has declared, promising to close the scheme for new applicants in 2024 after it stoked housing prices in one of western Europe’s poorest nations.

Launched in 2009, the scheme allows people who become residents by spending more than 183 days a year in the country to benefit from a special 20% tax rate on Portuguese-sourced income derived from “high value-added activities“”, such as doctors and university teachers.

Continue reading...

Greggs keeps prices on hold as sales leap and it opens new shops

Posted on by

Britain’s biggest bakery chain says cost inflation is easing, although staff costs are rising

Greggs, Britain’s biggest bakery chain, said it had no plans to raise its prices before Christmas after its cost inflation eased, as sales soared over the last three months.

The retailer raised its prices in June, when some products went up by 5-10p.

Continue reading...

UK economy makes stronger recovery from pandemic than first thought

Posted on by

Revisions to figures show stronger performance than Germany and France but momentum starts to stall

The UK economy made a faster recovery from the Covid pandemic than previously estimated, according to revisions to official figures revealing a stronger performance than Germany and France.

In a boost for Rishi Sunak before the Conservative party conference in Manchester beginning this weekend, revised figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed gross domestic product was 1.8% above pre-pandemic levels at the end of the second quarter this year.

Continue reading...

UK manufacturers cut hiring plans amid ‘sharp slowdown’, survey finds

Posted on by

Firms preparing for difficult year as ‘potent cocktail’ of difficulties takes hold, says industry lobby group

UK manufacturers are cutting their recruitment plans after being hit by a slowdown in orders as a downturn looms, a new survey shows.

Britain’s manufacturers are “battening down the hatches” amid a sharp drop in activity, according to the latest quarterly data from Make UK, which represents manufacturers, and the business advisory firm BDO.

Continue reading...

Sluggish eurozone economies will not welcome ECB’s interest rate rise

Posted on by

Weak consumer spending as, people – especially in Germany, the EU’s largest economy – put more into savings

Interest rates went up again across the eurozone on Thursday – probably for the last time during this cycle of hikes that has become a familiar story in the single currency bloc, as it has in the UK and US.

The European Central Bank (ECB) raised its main deposit rate by a quarter of one per cent to 4% – the highest level in the euro’s history.

Continue reading...

Carrefour puts ‘shrinkflation’ price warnings on food to shame brands

Posted on by

French supermarket chain labels products that have shrunk in size but cost more before contract talks with suppliers

The French supermarket chain Carrefour has put labels on its shelves this week warning shoppers of “shrinkflation”, the phenomenon where manufacturers reduce pack sizes rather than increase prices.

It has slapped price warnings on products from Lindt chocolates to Lipton iced tea to pressure top consumer goods suppliers Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever to tackle the issue in advance of much-anticipated contract talks.

Continue reading...

US inflation in August rose to 3.7% amid sharp increase in energy prices

Posted on by

Growth in prices still remains far below the decades-high inflation rates that were seen last summer, when rate peaked at 9.1% in June

US inflation in August rose for the first time since June 2022, rising to 3.7% as a sharp increase in energy prices pushed prices up toward the end of the summer.

Growth in prices still remains far below the decades-high inflation rates that were seen last summer, when the rate peaked at 9.1% in June. Still, an increase in inflation means the US economy is further from the Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2% and will likely make officials consider pushing interest rates up later this year.

Continue reading...

UK ‘mortgage meltdown’ looms amid ‘terrifying’ growth in arrears

Posted on by

Jump in borrowers unable to make payments with landlords particularly hit and ‘worse to come’

Mortgage arrears jumped by 13% in the second quarter of the year to the highest level since 2016, according to Bank of England figures that underscore the stress in the UK mortgage market.

Rising interest rates and unemployment over recent months have put pressure on household disposable incomes, forcing some families to cut or suspend their monthly mortgage payments.

Continue reading...

Number of Britons facing significant internet outages doubles in a year

Posted on by

Two-fifths of UK adults disconnected for three hours or more with one in four left without service for nearly a week

The number of Britons who have experienced their internet connection failing for at least three hours has almost doubled in the last year, with irate consumers now ranking broadband outages as a bigger frustration than roadworks or public transport delays.

In the past year, two-fifths (41%) of all UK adults – 22 million consumers – have had their internet disconnected for three or more hours, a significant increase on the 12 million who reported disruption the previous year, according to a report by the price comparison website Uswitch.

Continue reading...

Mountain view: Bank top economist offers two routes to beating inflation

Posted on by

Huw Pill says he prefers longer, more steady use of interest rates of Table Mountain model over sharp rise and fall of Matterhorn approach

Tourist attraction, backdrop to millions of selfies and one of the world’s most easily identifiable landmarks. Cape Town’s Table Mountain is all of these things, but now it has found a new role: as a guide to what will happen to UK interest rates.

For Huw Pill the opportunity was too good to pass up. Invited by South Africa’s central bank to speak at a high-level conference, the Bank of England’s chief economist said there were two ways for Threadneedle Street to bring UK inflation back to the government’s 2% target.

Continue reading...

Fed chair warns US inflation battle not over and hints at further rate rises

Posted on by

Jay Powell tells symposium in Wyoming that inflation is still too high but that US central bank will ‘keep at it until the job is done’

Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell used a closely watched speech on Friday to warn that the fight against inflation in the US is not over.

Speaking at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s annual gathering of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Powell said inflation was still too high and that interest rates may have to rise further to tamp it down.

Continue reading...

Homebuilder shares tumble as UK housing market weakens – business live

Posted on by

A profit warning from housebuilder Crest Nicholson has compounded fears of a housing market slowdown, as Rightmove data reveals a further drop in asking prices

AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said that while weak house price data (as was “hardly a surprise”, Crest Nicholson’s profit warning has “laid bare the the scale of the impact of a housing slowdown on the housebuilding sector.”

Sales of new homes have plunged alarmingly and, while not all developers in the space are created equal, the news, allied to Rightmove’s latest reading on the property market, has had a knock-on effect on share prices in the rest of the sector this morning.

The £7,000 drop in the average asking price observed by Rightmove in the last month, allied to a big drop in transaction volumes, is the kind of statistic to make estate agents distinctly uneasy.

Continue reading...