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☆ The UK economy is bigger than we thought. It still has ‘a growth problem’
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

London CNN —The UK economy recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic much faster than previously thought, according to major revisions of official statistics that have erased Britain’s laggard status overnight. The ONS had said as recently as last month that UK GDP had still not reached its pre-pandemic size by the second quarter of this year. “UK growth has still been very sluggish, even if it’s not at the bottom,” said Prof. Huw Dixon, who leads research in economic measurement at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research. So while the size of the economy is bigger than we thought, Britain still has a growth problem.”Richer dataIn 2020, the UK economy suffered its biggest slump in more than three centuries, recovering sharply the following year off a low base. Annual GDP growth for 2021 was also revised up by 1.1 percentage points to 8.7%.

Persons: ” Ruth Gregory, “, ”, Huw Dixon, ” Dixon, ” John Springford, Richer, That’s, Frost, Darren Morgan, Henry Nicholls, Jeremy Hunt, Gregory, Nomura Organizations: London CNN, Office, National Statistics, ONS, Capital Economics, National Institute of Economic, Social Research, CNN, Centre, European Reform, Getty Images, Bank of England Locations: Germany, United States, Canada, Japan, Italy, France, Britain, Petticoat Lane, AFP, United Kingdom

☆ U.K. Inflation Eases to 6.8% as Energy Prices Fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Liz Alderman | More About Liz Alderman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Behind the Numbers: Slowdown reflects falling energy prices. Inflation in Britain peaked in October at more than 11 percent, the highest rate in 30 years, after Russia’s war in Ukraine fanned a surge in energy and food prices. Officials in Britain and Europe’s largest economies have worked to tame high energy costs, which jumped after Russian gas supplies were cut off. Food prices in the U.K. rose 14.8 percent in July from a year earlier. Wages in Britain have been rising, as workers demand higher pay to offset rising prices and employers compete to fill jobs in a tight labor market.

Persons: it’s, Darren Morgan Organizations: National Statistics, Bank of England, The Bank of England Locations: Britain, Ukraine, Germany

☆ Premarket stocks: Does it matter whether the Federal Reserve hikes or pauses rates in September?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —After the Federal Reserve raised interest rates in July to the highest level in 22 years, Wall Street’s focus is on whether September will bring another rate hike. But does it really matter whether the Fed raises or pauses rates next month? Before the Bell: Does it matter whether the Fed raises rates in September by another quarter point or holds steady instead? And, that earnings can grow even in an environment where interest rates are back to levels that they have been in for the past couple of decades. Year-over-year comparisons should improve, but I think investors want to see that.

Persons: Bell, Ed Yardeni, they’ve, Moody’s, they’re, We’ve, Fitch, CNN’s Kathleen Magramo, Women Jan Tinetti, Tinetti, Read, CNN’s Olesya Dmitracova, Darren Morgan, ”, Jonathan Moyes Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Federal Reserve, Employers, Traders, Yardeni, Women, Labour, Organisation for Economic Co, Development, Gross, National Statistics, Wealth Locations: New York, New Zealand

☆ UK economy: GDP records surprise growth in second quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Olesya Dmitracova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —The UK economy grew in the three months to June 30, compared with the previous quarter, official data showed Friday. Unlike its G7 peers, the UK economy still has not returned to pre-pandemic levels of output. In the three years before Covid’s rapid spread in 2020, UK output expanded by an average of 0.5% per quarter. Survey data also suggests that Britain’s bout of feeble economic growth has continued beyond the second quarter. The preliminary reading of the Purchasing Managers’ Index for July showed hardly any growth in UK private sector output and the weakest rise in six months.

Persons: ”, Darren Morgan, Rishi Sunak Organizations: London CNN, Gross, National Statistics, Bank of England’s, Bank of England Locations: United Kingdom

☆ UK employment hits record high but the economy is still short 1 million workers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —The number of people in work in the United Kingdom has climbed above its pre-pandemic level for the first time, reaching a record high. Employment hit a record 33.1 million between February and April, with increases in both the number of employees and self-employed workers, the Office for National Statistics said Tuesday. Employment in the United Kingdom has recovered more slowly than in any other major economy since the pandemic, according to the UK Institute for Employment Studies. This is the fastest rise on record, apart from the period when the figures were distorted by the pandemic, Morgan noted. Food inflation remained above 19% — near a 45-year high — hitting poor households the hardest because they spend more of their available income on food.

Persons: Darren Morgan, Morgan, Liz Truss, Jeremy Hunt, ”, Ashley Webb, Anna Cooban Organizations: London CNN, National Statistics, Employment, UK Institute for Employment Studies, Bank of, “, Capital Economics, Bank, Ill Locations: United Kingdom, Europe, United States

☆ UK jobless rate rises, potentially easing Bank of England inflation worries
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Investors are questioning the health of the commercial real estate sector following a string of recent banking crises. Britain's unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 3.9% in the three months to March as more people sought to get back into the jobs market, potentially easing concerns at the Bank of England about inflation pressures. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the rate to hold at 3.8%. However, pay growth - which is at the heart of the BoE's debate about whether to raise interest rates further - remained strong by historical standards. Annual pay growth including bonuses held at 5.8%, as expected in the Reuters poll.

☆ UK jobless rate rises, potentially easing BoE inflation worries
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, May 16 (Reuters) - Britain's unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 3.9% in the three months to March as more people sought to get back into the jobs market, potentially easing concerns at the Bank of England about inflation pressures. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the rate to hold at 3.8%. However, pay growth - which is at the heart of the BoE's debate about whether to raise interest rates further - remained strong by historical standards. Annual pay growth including bonuses held at 5.8%, as expected in the Reuters poll. However, the number of people not working due to long-term sickness rose to a new record, Morgan said.

☆ UK economy limps along as high inflation hits spending
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

“Sky-high inflation, negative real wage growth and general cost of living pressures are weighing on the consumer, and in turn the services industry which is typically a key growth engine for the UK economy,” she added in a note. The Bank of England raised interest rates for the 12th consecutive time Thursday in its battle with double-digit inflation. The central bank expects the UK economy to grow by 0.25% this year and by 0.75% in 2024 — a much more positive assessment than in February, when it forecast contractions of 0.5% and 0.25%, respectively. Inflation still highConsumer price inflation in the UK remains stubbornly high, holding above 10% in the year to March. “With inflation still in double digits, it feels depressingly like a re-run of the 1970s.”The Bank of England expects inflation to fall sharply over the coming months.

☆ Rainy March dampens shopper spending in Britain
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast that sales volumes would fall by a monthly 0.5% after rising in January and February. Darren Morgan, director of economics at the Office for National Statistics, said the broader trend for retail sales was less subdued than the figures for March alone suggested. Retail sales volumes in March were 3.1% lower than a year earlier. "That said, even though the worst of the declines in retail sales are in the past, higher interest rates will restrain spending this year," he said. The BoE is expected to raise interest rates for the 12th consecutive meeting in May, taking Bank Rate to 4.5% from its current level of 4.25%.

The PMI was driven by the services sector as consumer spending on travel, leisure and entertainment showed strength while manufacturing remained weak. S&P Global's input price index - a good guide to future inflation pressures - showed the slowest growth in costs for firms since March 2021, although overall cost pressures remained high by historical standards. There were also signs of recovery in Friday's consumer confidence survey by polling firm GfK which rose to its highest since February last year, albeit to weak levels. There was a reminder of the problems facing many consumers in official retail sales data also published on Friday. "A strong performance from retailers in January and February means the three-month picture shows positive growth for the first time since August 2021," he said.

Economic output increased by 0.1% from the previous three months after shrinking by 0.1% in the third quarter, which was a smaller contraction than previously thought. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) had previously said the economy showed no growth in the fourth quarter. Britain's dominant services sector rose by 0.1%, boosted by a nearly 11% jump for travel agents. The ONS said changes to the way it calculates seasonal adjustments to the data were behind the big revision. The ONS said increased foreign earnings by UK companies, particularly in the energy sector, helped narrow the deficit.

☆ British retail sales rebound unexpectedly in February
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( David Milliken | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, March 24 (Reuters) - British retail sales unexpectedly rebounded by 1.2% in February from the month before, returning sales volumes to their pre-pandemic level, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed on Friday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast that retail sales volumes in February would be 0.2% higher than in January. January sales growth was also revised up to 0.9% from 0.5%. However, Friday's data showed that retail sales volumes in February were still 3.5% lower than a year earlier. British consumers have been squeezed by inflation which hit a 41-year high of 11.1% in October and has remained in double digits since.

LONDON, March 10 (Reuters) - Children returning to school after an illness-ravaged December provided an unexpected, one-off boost to Britain's economy in January, when growth in output exceeded forecasts, data showed on Friday. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said Britain's economy expanded 0.3% month-on-month, after a drop of 0.5% in December - a reading that is likely to further allay recession fears. ONS Director of Economic Statistics Darren Morgan said the economy had shown zero growth over the last three months and the past year. The ONS said half of the 0.3% growth rate comprised the education sector, as a result of children returning to school after a significant drop in attendance in December. Fear of contracting COVID-19 over Christmas may also have contributed to children being taken out of school early.

☆ UK strikes hit a 30-year high as inflation erodes pay
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Many public sector workers have been offered raises of 4% or 5% for the current financial year, far lower than the 10.5% annual inflation rate in December. Real pay fallsThe UK government has so far refused to grant public sector workers higher pay awards, arguing that doing so risks making the inflation problem worse. For public sector workers, the decline in real pay will have been worse as, without adjusting for inflation, their wages grew a lot less compared with private sector earnings. The ONS said private sector pay growth was at its strongest outside the height of the coronavirus pandemic. “However, median anticipated public sector pay rise expectations of 2% lag those in the private sector at 5%, with the gap providing the context for ongoing discontent and strikes among key public sector workers,” the CIPD said.

☆ UK economy shows zero growth, narrowly avoiding recession
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Britain's economy showed zero growth in the final three months of 2022, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed on Friday, meaning it narrowly avoided entering recession. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast zero growth for the fourth quarter of the year. Monthly GDP data for December - a month marked by widespread rail strikes and bad weather - showed a 0.5% contraction, larger than the 0.3% forecast. "The economy contracted sharply in December meaning, overall, there was no growth in the economy over the last three months of 2022," said ONS statistician Darren Morgan said. Finance minister Jeremy Hunt said the data showed the British economy was more resilient than expected, but still not clear of danger.

"The economy grew a little in November with increases in telecommunications and computer programming helping to push the economy forward. Pubs and bars also did well as people went out to watch World Cup games," ONS statistician Darren Morgan said. The ONS said December's GDP would need to drop by about 0.5% for fourth-quarter growth to be negative when rounded to one decimal place, assuming no other revisions. Finance minister Jeremy Hunt said after the GDP data that "the most important help we can give is to stick to the plan to halve inflation this year so we get the economy growing again". Reporting by David Milliken and Andy Bruce; editing by Sarah Young and Kate HoltonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Jobless rate rises as UK prepares to tighten belts again
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( William Schomberg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

With finance minister Jeremy Hunt set to raise taxes and cut spending on Thursday to fix the public finances, potentially deepening an expected recession, the jobless rate rose to 3.6%, pushed up by a rate of 3.8% in September alone. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the unemployment rate to remain at 3.5%. The number of job vacancies in the August-to-October period fell to 1.23 million, its lowest since late 2021. Wages excluding bonuses rose by 5.7%, their highest annual growth rate excluding the coronavirus pandemic period. Hunt has said he will address the problems of worker shortages in his budget statement on Thursday.

☆ The UK economy is sliding into recession and Europe is set to follow
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN Business —The UK economy shrank in the third quarter, signaling the start of a recession that is likely to hit Europe next. UK GDP fell 0.2% between July and September, ending five consecutive quarters of growth, the Office for National Statistics said on Friday. Recession stalks EuropeThe Bank of England warned last week that the UK economy could experience its longest recession since the 1940s. The European Commission warned Friday that high inflation and rising interest rates are likely to tip the euro zone into recession in the fourth quarter. Still, the Commission expects GDP growth in the euro area to remain positive next year and in 2024.

☆ Marea Britanie: Rata şomajului a ajuns la cel mai ridicat nivel din ultimii patru ani
▼ + stars: | 2020-12-15 | by ( Publika.Md - Aici Sunt Știrile | ) www.publika.md time to read: +2 min

Rata şomajului în Marea Britanie în perioada august - octombrie 2020 a ajuns la cel mai ridicat nivel din ultimii patru ani, în condițiile în care concedierile au atins un record din cauza pandemiei, transmite digi24.ro. Pandemia de coronavirus (COVID-19) a afectat semnificativ piaţa forţei de muncă din Marea Britanie. Conform datelor publicate marţi de Oficiul Naţional de Statistică (ONS), în perioada august-octombrie 2020, rata şomajului a urcat la 4,9%, de la 4,8%. Numărul celor disponibilizaţi a ajuns la nivelul record de 370.000 de oameni în perioada august - octombrie 2020, deşi în octombrie se înregistrase o scădere. „Per ansamblu, vedem o continuare a recentelor tendinţe, cu o slăbiciune accentuată a pieţei forţei de muncă”, a apreciat Darren Morgan, director în cadrul ONS.

Persons: Darren Morgan Organizations: Banca Angliei, Agerpres Locations: deşi

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