Petrol is now selling for around £1.75 a litre, whereas in July it topped £1.90 a litre in some cases. UK and European wholesale natural gas prices are trading at nearly 10 times normal levels, and other forecasters have also raised their inflation predictions. Today’s move brings Eurozone monetary policy more into line with that of the Bank of England and the US Federal Reserve, which have each raised interest rates multiple times this year. The Bureau said that a 10.6% decrease month-on-month in gasoline prices to August had been offset by rising costs for housing, food and medical care.
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The European Central Bank (ECB), in line with both the Bank of England and the US Federal Reserve, has raised its main borrowing cost by 0.5 percentage points – to 2.5% – in a bid to reduce inflation across the Eurozone. The Bank said that the MPC’s nine-strong committee voted 6-3 in favour of today’s decision. Of the three dissenters, two members favoured maintaining the Bank Rate at 3%, while one called for a hike of 0.75 percentage points. Those on fixed rates will not see a change in monthly payments immediately but may be faced by more expensive loans when they come to Budgeting for Nonprofits the end of their current deal. The decision comes despite yesterday’s official figures that showed UK inflation had eased from a 41-year high of 11.1% to stand at 10.7% in the year to November 2022. In a widely expected move, the Bank’s rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) hiked the Bank Rate by 0.5 percentage points to 3.5% today, its highest level since autumn 2008.
- In a notable shift, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg has surpassed Oracle founder Larry Ellison to become the third-wealthiest individual globally.
- UK inflation stands at 7%, and the 25-basis point hike was widely predicted by City forecasters.
- The latest numbers from the US will assuage concerns among investors that the country’s central bank, the Federal Reserve, will continue its policy of aggressive interest rate hikes at its next policy meeting in September.
- A recession is universally defined by two consecutive quarters of negative growth in GDP or Gross Domestic Product – a measure of a country’s economic output.
- Earlier this week, Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, stepped up warnings to the oil and gas industry that, unless companies soon announced increased investment plans for the UK, they could face a potential windfall tax on their profits.
- The Federal Reserve, like the Bank of England, is mandated to maintain inflation at 2% over the medium- to long-term.
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- There are some more bullish voices out there, including Goldman Sachs, who have forecast UK base rate to fall to just 2.75% by next autumn.
- In a surprise move, the BoE launched a major intervention in the UK government bond, or gilt, market at the end of September to prevent what it described as a “material risk to financial instability”.
- News of an imminent recession will come as a further blow to the swathes of households already struggling under mounting cost of living pressures.
- Research by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has found the average price of a basket of low-cost food items has risen at a lower rate than the official Consumer Prices Index (CPI) – but broadly in line with more general food and drink costs.
Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, was up by 0.3pp in August this year, following a 0.2pp increase in July. But over the 12 months to August, the Bureau said core inflation – which is monitored closely by central banks – rose by 4.3%, lower than the 4.7% recorded in the year to July. The move was prompted at least in part by yesterday’s latest official US headline inflation figures, which showed a steep month-on-month fall from 4.9% to 4% (see story below). However, this means consumer prices are still rising on an annual basis at twice the Fed’s long-term target of 2% – albeit much lower than the 9.1% recorded last summer.
- The ONS said that the largest downward contributions to the change in both the CPI and CPIH annual rates came from transport, recreation and culture, and food and non-alcoholic drinks.
- Latest data showed that UK inflation, as measured by the consumer prices index, had risen to a 40-year high of 9.4% in the year to June 2022.
- The spike in April likely reflects businesses increasing prices on the back of higher employment costs, which also took effect at the beginning of the month.
- But, despite an aggressive rate-setting policy by the US central bank, rising prices have not slowed down as rapidly as hoped.
- The Bank said that the MPC’s nine-strong committee voted 6-3 in favour of today’s decision.
- The European Central Bank (ECB) has raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, moving its deposit rate up to 3.25%, with the rate on its main refinancing option rising to 3.75%, writes Andrew Michael.
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- This is because the latest numbers have yet to take into account either the recent surge in energy prices or the petrol pump crisis of a few weeks ago.
- Stephen Ross may have come from humble beginnings, but he’s now one of the richest names in real estate.
- Today’s data boosted hopes that the US Federal Reserve will ease off from further aggressive interest rate rises putting pressure on the dollar.
- The Bureau added that, over the year to January this year, core CPI, which is regarded as a reliable pointer to longer-term inflation trends, rose by 3.9%, the same level as reported a month earlier.
- “His personal fortune is estimated at $18 billion,” with a substantial portion rooted in Saudi Arabia’s vast oil wealth.
While the Fed’s decision to hold rather than increase rates 5 wealthiest people in the world was widely expected, what’s less clear is whether today’s decision marks an end, or simply a pause, to the country’s tightening of monetary policy. This compares with an official inflation print of 4% in the US for the year to May, announced earlier this week. UK inflation stands at 8.7% – more than double that of the US – but is expected to fall when official figures are released next Wednesday.
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Musk, Arnault, Bezos, Ellison and Buffett were not among the signatories — although Buffett has famously criticized the wealthy’s lower tax rates and previously advocated for policy change in the same vein. Today’s figure is the highest 12-month inflation rate since November 2011, when the CPI annual inflation rate was 4.8%. Inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose by 5.1% in the 12 months to November 2021 – its highest level in over a decade – according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). UK inflation, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index, jumped to 5.4% in the 12 months to December 2021 – its highest level in 30 years – according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
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According to Forbes’ real-time tracking of billionaires, Johann Rupert and his family are the richest in South Africa, with a net worth of $14 billion. «In part this is due to limits on the ability of some pass-through businesses to fully deduct their state and local taxes and a limit on all deductions for top-bracket households,» wrote Howard Gleckman, senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center. Lower earners stand to benefit from provisions including a higher standard deduction and temporarily enhanced child tax credit, and tax breaks tied to tip income and car loan interest, for example, experts said. That said, more than 8 in 10 households overall would get a tax cut in 2026 if the bill is enacted, the Tax Policy Center found. The bottom 20% of households — who make less than $14,000 a year — would see their annual incomes fall about $800 in 2027, on average, Yale estimates. The Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan federal scorekeeper, estimates income for the bottom 10% of households would fall by 2% in 2027 and by 4% in 2033 ledger account as a result of the bill’s changes.