Arrow Ireland appoints new Director of Asset Management

European investor and alternative asset manager in credit and real estate, Arrow Global has announced the appointment of Seamus Corbett as Director of Asset Management to its Dublin-headquartered Mars Capital Finance. Corbett has over 20 years of experience in Banking and Servicing in Ireland, joining Mars from BCM Global where he held a similar senior…

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Bank of England raises rates with one in seven micro businesses still not fully trading  

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee’s vote to increase the base rate to 1%  follows the release of ONS figures showing that 16% of microbusinesses are still not currently fully trading (compared to only 3% of big businesses) meaning that small businesses will be hit harder with a ‘cost of doing business.’ Responding the…

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Fears growing over financial pressures on businesses

Fears are rising over the financial pressures facing British businesses. The latest Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking barometer shows that business confidence in London fell by 20 points during April to 40%, while Begbies Traynor warned that there was a 20% rise in the number of companies in distress over just three months. The barometer showed…

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Lack of confidence in economy is a ‘number one issue’ for British businesses

The Institute of Directors (IoD)’ Economic Confidence Index, which measures business leader optimism in prospects for the UK economy, remained very low in April 2022, at -36. In March 2022, the Index had collapsed to -34 from its previous level of just below zero. However, confidence in prospects for their own firms partially recovered in…

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Report paints mixed picture across industries as business insolvencies double

Close to half of small firms do not expect to grow over the coming year amid a cost-of-doing-business crisis and widening sectoral optimism gap, according to the latest SBI from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).   The headline SBI UK confidence reading stands at +15.3 for Q1 2022, meaning more small business owners expect an…

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Global business insolvencies predicted to increase as support measures end

22nd April 2022 Business | #business insolvencies

Despite a return to normal for many economies in 2022, insolvencies are set to rise according to trade credit insurer, Atradius. The company predicts that the global economy will emerge gradually from the Covid pandemic in 2022, with restrictions unwound in most countries and regions. But despite a return to normality for many, Atradius reports…

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Households suffer as inflation hits 30 year high

14th April 2022 Global | #inflation

Office for National Statistics (ONS) data shows that inflation hit a 30-year high of 7% in March. The increase marks the highest level of inflation since the 7.1% rate recorded in March 1992. Inflation increased from the 6.2% seen in February and also came in higher than the 6.7% expected by analysts. The increase does…

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Developing countries facing triple crisis

An economic research report by Atradius has found that many developing countries are facing a triple crisis in 2022 with the impact of the pandemic is being felt across the globe, particularly in small island economies which have historically been heavily reliant on tourism. Existing debt vulnerabilities were only aggravated by the pandemic. With global…

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Consumer sentiment falls as cost of living and inflation pressures impact households

5th April 2022 Global |

PwC’s Consumer Sentiment Index for March 2022 has seen a considerable drop off in sentiment reflecting the cost of living crisis. The Index found that consumer sentiment is currently tracking at -20, after peaking at +10 in June 2021. A 30 point decline in nine months is the biggest sustained fall in the survey since…

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Cash a crucial part of payments mix

Around ten million people, or one in five adults, would struggle to manage in a society without cash, according to a report from the Royal Society of Arts commissioned by cash machine network Link. The research found that almost half of people believe going cashless would be problematic, and while three in ten think they…

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Poorest hardest hit by inflation

A report from EY Item Club has revealed that the fifth of households on the lowest incomes will be hit the hardest by rising inflation – suffering a 9.6% rise in living costs compared with an average of 8.6% for the richest fifth of households. EY Item Club economists say inflation will peak next month…

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SPRING STATEMENT: National Insurance threshold and cuts fuel duty – Industry reaction

24th March 2022 Arrears and Recoveries | #economy

The Chancellor delivered a Spring Statement which will reduce fuel duty on petrol and diesel by 5p per litre for the next year and announces a £5 billion income tax cut from 2024. The National Insurance starting thresholds will rise to £12,570 from July.  The Government says that the tax cut, worth over £6 billion,…

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Lack of support for low-income families will see 1.3m pushed into absolute poverty

The Chancellor’s failure to support families through the cost of living crisis will mean that absolute poverty is expected to rise by 1.3 million people next year according to the Resolution Foundation’s analysis of Spring Statement 2022. Inflation Nation shows that faced with an unprecedented squeeze on family’s household finances and a significant boost to…

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