Author: WTX Business Team

Bank of England set to hold interest rates after inflation jump The Bank of England is poised to leave interest rates on hold this week after a jump in inflation and uncertainty over the Budget’s economic impact. Policymakers are expected to keep rates at 4.75 per cent at their next meeting on Thursday after making cuts in August and November. Although inflation fell below the BoE’s two per cent target in September, the latest official figures showed it jumped back up to 2.3 per cent in October. The reading marked the sharpest rise in two years and was higher than…

UK companies cut jobs at fastest rate in nearly 4 years The private sector cut jobs at the fastest rate for nearly 4 years in December as firms respond to new tax rules announced in the Budget. The latest S&P Global Flash UK Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) found that while the headline figure for business confidence was unchanged from November, thanks to a marginal increase in business activity, other areas of the economy saw a sharp drop-off. Manufacturing output and PMI both fell to an 11-month low, at 45.7 (from 48.3) and 47.3 (from 48) respectively, while companies reported the…

London Stock Exchange suffers biggest exodus in 15 years as former boss sounds alarm The former head of the London Stock Exchange Group has warned its flagship bourse has become “deeply uncompetitive” amid its biggest exodus since the financial crisis. Xavier Rolet, who ran LSEG between 2009 and 2017, said lacklustre trading in London created a “real threat” of more UK firms ditching their listings in the capital for better returns overseas. His comments come after FTSE 100 equipment rental firm Ashtead confirmed plans to move its main listing to the US, following in the footsteps of several other big…

Bitcoin soared to an all-time high, briefly surpassing $106,000, fueled by optimism over Donald Trump’s pro-cryptocurrency stance ahead of his return to the White House. The cryptocurrency has gained more than 50% since Trump’s election victory on November 5.

Dinosaur bones listed on the stock exchange: “Investing in fossils pays like gold” New York — After dinosaur bones fetched millions of dollars at recent auctions, perhaps it was inevitable: a private company has announced a date on which it will proceed with a public offering to allow investors to buy shares of a stegosaurus fossil. Dinosaur bones listed on the stock exchange: “Investing in fossils pays like gold” https://www.repubblica.it/cronaca/2024/12/15/news/dinosauri_vendita_quote_musei-423887382/?rss

UK’s economy shrinks unexpectedly by 0.1% in October Britain’s economy shrank by 0.1% in October, underlining the scale of Labour’s challenge to get the economy growing. Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed the unexpected fall in GDP was driven by declines in construction and production, while the dominant services sector stagnated. Economists, polled by Reuters, had expected the economy to grow by 0.1%. It follows a decline of 0.1% in September and sluggish growth of 0.1% in the third quarter of the year, according to figures last month. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/dec/13/uk-economy-october-gdp

The outage began around 18:00 GMT, according to the tracking site Downdetector, and affected users in the UK, Europe, Asia, Australia, South America, and the US. Reports indicated over 18,000 issues with WhatsApp and more than 22,000 with Facebook.

Business confidence drops at fastest pace for over three years Business optimism fell at its fastest pace in over three years following October’s Budget, a new survey shows. BDO’s latest business trends survey, which collects and regroups data from the UK’s main business surveys, showed that corporate confidence fell to its lowest level since January 2023. The optimism index dropped 5.8 points to 93.49 in November, which was the largest monthly fall since August 2021. The drop in confidence reflects the anticipated effect of the Budget, as businesses brace for the impact of the national insurance hike and the increase…

UK start-ups still at the forefront of global innovation Despite the “doom and gloom” narrative and post-Budget fears looming over the UK’s start-up ecosystem, the country still holds its ground at the forefront of global innovation. At least that is the view of Ashish Patel, managing director at Houlihan Lokey’s Capital Market Group, who says that a rise of international investment into UK start-ups this year is indeed a sign of good fortune. While referencing the success of “landmark deals” across a variety of sectors this year, including AI firm Wayve’s $1bn (£787m) raise for self-driving cars, biotech start-up Nuclera’s $75m (£59m) for…

Cabinet minister pledges to make government more ‘start up’ A cabinet minister is set to pledge that the government will become “more like a start up” ahead of the launch of a £100m fund targeting public service reform. Pat McFadden will call for Whitehall to adopt a ‘test and learn culture’, stating: “If we keep governing as usual, we are not going to achieve what we want to achieve” Speaking at University College London in Stratford on Monday, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is expected to launch a new fund focusing on efficiency in bureaucracy. “Test it. Fix the…

Job vacancies collapse as Budget tax raid puts firms off hiring, survey shows The number of job vacancies in the UK fell at its fastest pace in over four years last month as firms held off hiring due to the government’s Budget tax hikes, a new survey suggests. The latest report on jobs from KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) showed an “accelerated decline” in the number of people placed in permanent roles by recruiters. The survey also showed that the number of job openings fell at the sharpest pace since August 2020 as demand for staff dried…

Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, has smashed through the $100,000 mark for the first time, setting a new record high. This historic milestone comes amid growing excitement over the possibility that US President-elect Donald Trump may support cryptocurrency-friendly policies.