Credit, collections & insolvency news
Consumer confidence in the UK rose to -21 in September, the best recorded since January 2022, according GfK’s latest Consumer Confidence Index. The index measuring changes in personal finances during the last year is up two points at -13; this is 15 points better than September 2022. The forecast for personal finances over the next…
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Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that prices rose less than expected in August. The annual rate of inflation fell to 6.7% last month, much lower than the rise from 6.8% in July to 7% economists had expected. Core inflation, excluding food, energy, alcohol and tobacco, stood at 6.2% in August, down…
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Latest GDP figures have shown that the economy grew 0.5% in June and 0.2% between April to June according to official data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The ONS said the struggling manufacturing sector has experienced a modest rebound in the second quarter and that the economy benefitted from the effects of May’s…
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Latest GDP figures have shown that the economy grew 0.5% in June and 0.2% between April to June. The struggling manufacturing sector experienced a modest rebound in the second quarter and with the economy benefitted from the effects of May’s extra bank holiday. The Bank of England said last week that it expected annual growth…
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The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said the country is on course to experience five years of lost economic growth. The reports says that the triple shocks of Brexit, Covid and the war in Ukraine had all contributed to the dire forecast. NIESR says that despite continuing to expect the UK to…
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The UK is facing a prolonged economic slump caused by higher interest rates, economists have warned. EY Item Club has cut its growth forecast for 2024 and 2025. The group said the economy is set to grow by 0.8% next year, less than half its previous prediction of 1.9%. GDP growth will rise to 1.7%…
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Just under half (45%) of small businesses say economic uncertainty is holding their business back, with the figure is up from 36% a year ago according to research by Novuna Business Finance With the percentage of small businesses predicting growth remaining static at around 33% for the third consecutive quarter. Overall, eight in ten small…
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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 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 Economy registered no growth in February, as a contraction in services and production offset strong growth in construction, according to latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data. Revised figures from the previous month pushed GDP up by 0.4 per cent in January after a 0.5 per cent decrease in December. TheONS estimated that…
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The UK economy proved to be more resilient than expected at the end of 2022 but the squeeze on household real incomes and the impact of past interest rate increases will likely derail short-term momentum, with UK growth expected to be negative this year at -0.3% and only 0.6% in 2024 according to the latest…
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For the first time in six months, all 14 sectors monitored by the Lloyds Bank UK Sector Tracker reported that they expected their output to grow over the next year, up from 13 in December. According to the Tracker, improved optimism was driven by expectations of weaker inflation over the next 12 months. The number…
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Latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures that showed monthly GDP fell by 0.5% in December 2022, leading to an overall estimate of a flat economy in the final quarter of the year. Whilst the Bank of England is predicted we’re still heading for a recession later this year, but it will be shorter and…
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