Business news and opinion from Evans Weir > Category: Economy | Page 3

The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, delivered his 2022 Spring Statement on 23rd March, reducing fuel duty and making some concessions on taxes. Read more and download our FREE Guide here.

As the world began to recover from the Covid pandemic, the impact on global shipping came into sharp focus. With medical supplies and PPE using up vast amounts of the capacity for an extended period, combined with major lockdowns of entire regions and ports in China; the availability of shipping containers, space on board ships and the cost became key issues.

Company bosses are being urged to plan for the increase in energy costs over the next 12 months to avoid ‘nasty shocks’ when contracts end. With most commercial contracts for energy running over longer periods than similar residential supplies, there is concern that company bosses may ignore the potential impact of sizeable price jumps in the meantime.

Analysts, economists and brokers are all warning that businesses may face an increase in the cost of a range of raw materials, commodities and natural resources as a result of the war in Ukraine and the sanctions being imposed on Russia.

With prices rising across the board, the Bank of England has stepped in to try and cool the market announcing an increase in interest rates. The rise, which is the second in three months and the first back to back increase in almost two decades, means interest rates will increase from their current 0.25% to 0.5%.

Data published by Nationwide Building Society shows that annual house price growth hit 10% in November. This latest rise puts the average price of a UK house at £252,687 in November 2021, which when compared to March 2020, immediately before the pandemic hit, means that house prices are almost 15% higher overall.

For the first time since the number of job vacancies were recorded in 2001, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has announced that they topped 1 million in August 2021. Despite much speculation that it would be unemployment figures that would peak at this point, following the pandemic and the winding down of the furlough […]

Recent announcements regarding the increase in GDP and inflation both point towards another strong phase of recovery, but the headlines hide a slightly different story. GDP figures covering the second quarter of 2021 were incredibly positive, showing almost record growth in a single period of 4.8%. Inflation figures released around the same time and covering […]

With the latest stage of lockdown restrictions being eased, economists and forecasters are predicting UK consumer spending will help to boost the recovery. The backdrop to the prediction is the record level of personal savings that UK households have squirrelled away during the pandemic. With opportunities to spend restricted, records have been set and broken […]

Reports show an increase in the number of co-operatives having been established in 2020/21 as businesses search for recovery solutions. Faced with cancelled orders, falling sales and a lack of wholesale trade opportunities, hundreds of smaller enterprises were staring down a bleak future when the Covid pandemic took hold in Spring 2020. Whilst many took […]

The latest set of quarterly reports from the Government and Office for National Statistics (ONS) have once again highlighted the rather topsy-turvy nature of the UK economy at present.

Perhaps it was the lack of wiggle room afforded to him or the fact that today’s Government is like a sieve when it comes to news of plans and ideas circulating around the cabinet table, but the lack of surprise elements in this week’s budget was probably, in itself, not a surprise.