Manufacturing growing faster than predicted
The pound rose to a near five-year high against the dollar yesterday (May 1) after the Markit/CIPS Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) jumped to 57.3 from a revised 55.8 in March.Continue reading
More People Than Ever In 40p Tax Rate Band By 2015
New figures from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) show that the number of people in the 40p rate tax bracket will rise from 3.5 million to 4.6 million by the time of the next election.Continue reading
Paym Makes Payments Easy
A revolutionary new mobile banking app that allows money to be transferred between accounts using just telephone numbers launched yesterday (April 29) but most bank customers will have no immediate access to the technology and many will not be able to use the system fully until 2015.Continue reading
Economic Growth Rises In Q1
Figures published today (April 29) by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that the UK economy grew again in the first three months of the year, marking the fifth consecutive period of GDP growth.Continue reading
Economic Outlook “Exceptionally Strong”
Economic growth continued to gather pace in April, alongside predictions of even stronger growth in the next quarter, according to the latest CBI Growth Indicator, published today (April 28).Continue reading
Optimism abounds
Retailers reported increased sales for the fifth consecutive month in April, reflecting “stronger fundamentals” in the sector, with optimism climbing to its highest level in more than three years.Continue reading
Government Hits Borrowing Target
Stronger tax receipts and a fall in departmental spending helped Chancellor George Osborne meet the Government’s full-year borrowing target, confounding expectations, which were for a deficit of £11bn.Continue reading
Lending Down But More Loans Being Approved
Although lending to businesses of all sizes fell in the three months to February, year-on-year, the £500m decline represented a marked improvement on the annualised £3.3bn drop in the previous quarter. Continue reading
Spending Power Set To Rise
Consumer spending power is set to rise by 1.5 per cent this year as earnings growth accelerates and headline inflation remains below the Bank of England’s target of 2 per cent, according to a report from an economic think tank.Continue reading
Employment Patterns Changing
The rise in employment in the UK has been partially spurred by a marked increase in the number of freelancers, as well as an increase in the number of older workers, while the number of women in jobs has reached a record high.Continue reading
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