Consumer confidence rose in July as low-income households received cost of living payments from the government’s support package. A two-point increase was the first rise since November 2021 on the index compiled by YouGov and the Centre for Economics and Business Research. Consumer confidence had fallen by nine points in the seven months to July. […]Read More

The number of used cars sold fell by nearly a fifth in the second quarter as the supply issues that have put the brakes on the new car market finally hit the availability of second-hand vehicles. Figures out today from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders showed a 18.8 per cent fall in the […]Read More

Elon Musk has sold $6.9 billion worth of shares in Tesla to avoid what he said was an emergency sale should Twitter succeed in forcing him to close the $44 billion takeover. The social media group is suing him to complete the deal after he moved to walk away from a bid last month and […]Read More

Electric vehicle charging app Zap-Map has secured £9m in Series A funding to grow its development team and fund international growth. Headquartered in Bristol, Zap-Map’s app lets users find and pay for public EV charging points. Zap-Map also publishes data analytics on the UK’s electric vehicle sector. “This fundraising round allows us to accelerate Zap-Map’s […]Read More

Former Chancellor Lord Philip Hammond has been appointed to the advisory board of the provisionally named Fintech Growth fund, a £1bn venture to invest in financial technology startups, according to reports. Sources told Sky News on Monday that Lord Hammond, who served as chancellor under former Prime Minister Theresa May from 2016 to 2019, would […]Read More

July could be the “lull before the storm” for retailers and consumers after the heatwave boosted sales of summer clothing, picnic treats and electric fans despite the intensifying cost of living crisis, experts have warned. Figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) revealed a 2.3% sales rise last month compared with a 6.4% rise the […]Read More

The Bank of England will probably have to raise interest rates further from their current 14 year-high to tackle inflationary pressures that are gaining a foothold in Britain’s economy, its deputy governor, Dave Ramsden, has said. The spread of inflation was showing up in rising British pay and companies’ pricing plans, having originally been triggered […]Read More

Intel has called on the government to lay out a strategy for the semiconductor industry and not miss out on inward investment. The giant American chip company is spending €33 billion in mainland Europe on semiconductor research and manufacturing, with support from the European Union, but has no such plans for the UK. Western countries […]Read More

Boris Johnson has no plans to introduce big tax and spending measures before he leaves office to ease the cost-of-living crisis, Downing Street has said. Business group leader Tony Danker has urged ministers to “grip the emerging crisis”, arguing it “made no sense to wait” for the next PM to arrive. And Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s […]Read More

With credit card borrowing growing at its fastest pace since 2005, new analysis shows that last month average rates on credit cards hit their highest level since 1998. An analysis of the Bank of England’s quoted household interest rate figures uncovered that average credit card rates jumped 0.23 percentage points from June to hit 21.66 […]Read More