Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
The rising cost of food will overtake the price of energy as the driving force behind inflation over the summer, hitting poorer households the hardest, according to a forecast by the Resolution Foundation. The Foundation says that the cost of living crisis is often thought of as a cost of energy crisis. That is an…
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Consumer confidence has risen for the fourth month in a row to its highest in 15 months as households take a more positive view about the economy and their finances, despite inflation still in double digits in May. GfK’s headline confidence index showed a rise to -27 in May from -30 in April, moving further…
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Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics has shown that the economy fells 0.3% in March, but grew by 0.1% for the first three months of the year The services sector led the decline, falling by 0.5% whilst the production sector grew by 0.7%, the strongest read since May 2021. Construction was up 0.2%.…
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The Bank of England has raised its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.5%, marking its 12th consecutive rate rise. The BoE revised up its growth forecasts from gloomy numbers released in February, but it also now expects inflation to be slower to fall than it had hoped, mostly due…
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Research by iwoca has found that recession fears are receding with small business loan application figures rising. The company says there are signs of confidence returning to the UK’s 5.5m small and medium-sized businesses and the lending market they rely on. The new research, carried out with over one hundred SME finance brokers who collectively…
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A survey by the Institute of Directors (IoD) has revealed an increase in business confidence in April, rising from -13 in March and a low of -64 in November to -5 last month. This is the fifth consecutive month in which the index value has improved, following a low of -64 in November 2022. The value…
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PwC has joined the Bank of England and Office for Budget Responsibility in forecasting that Britain will avoid a recession this year. PwC estimates that the UK economy will grow by 0.1% this year before returning to 1% growth by the end of 2024 and 1.6% by end of 2025. It believes GDP will rise…
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Business confidence has reached the highest level since May 2022, according to the latest monthly sentiment index by Lloyds Bank. Confidence reached 33% in April, marking a slight increase from 32% recorded in March. The survey of 1,200 businesses found that overall economic optimism rose by five points to 28%, which is also close to…
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Business confidence in the UK has returned to positive territory for the first time in a year but remains fragile amid a backdrop of economic volatility, a survey of business leaders has found. Sentiment tracked by ICAEW’s Business Confidence Monitor (BCM) – one of the largest and most comprehensive quarterly surveys of UK business activity…
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The consumer prices index (CPI) measure of inflation fell to 10.1% in the year to March from 10.4% in February, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The static inflation was driven by food prices rising at their fastest rate for 45 years. Commenting on inflation figures for March, ONS Chief Economist Grant Fitzner…
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The latest UK inflation data has shown that the rate has fallen less than expected and remains in double digits at 10.1 per cent in March, from 10.4% in February, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The stubborn rate has been driven by food prices rising at their fastest rate for 45 years.…
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The UK economy is now expected to avoid both a technical recession and a calendar year contraction in 2023, according to the EY ITEM Club Spring Forecast. The economy is expected to record 0.2% growth this year, which is a significant upgrade from the -0.7% contraction predicted in January’s Winter Forecast. The improved outlook is…
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The UK is set to be one of the world’s worst-performing major economies this year, according to a forecast from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The report says the UK economy’s performance in 2023 will be the worst among the G7, predicting that the economy will shrink by 0.3% in 2023 and then grow by…
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