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
Wages And Employment On The Rise
Official figures have revealed that weekly earnings including bonuses rose by 1.7 per cent in the three months to February, outstripping inflation and halting the five-year squeeze on living standards.Continue reading
UK Inflation Rate Falls Again
The UK inflation rate, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), fell to 1.6 per cent in March, down from February’s 1.7 per cent. This is the third consecutive month the rate has fallen below the Bank of England’s target of 2 per cent and takes the rate to a four-year low. Continue reading
Wages Could Finally Outstrip Inflation
New research suggests that wages could rise by more than inflation for the first time in almost six years this month and that the UK economy will see “decent but unspectacular” growth this year.Continue reading
More People Switching Accounts
More than 600,000 people have changed their current account provider in the first six months of a scheme designed to make switching banks easier, a rise of 14 per cent on the same period a year ago.Continue reading
Trade Deficit Narrows
The UK’s trade deficit narrowed more than expected in February, helped by a fall in imports, mainly in aircraft and aircraft parts, which fell 46.3 per cent, contributing to three-quarters of the total fall in imports in the month.Continue reading
Further Boost To UK Economic Growth Forecast
A new report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted that UK economic growth will reach 2.9 per cent in 2014 and says that the country will be the fastest-growing in the G7 group of nations this year.Continue reading
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