Interest Rates
This coverage examines interest rate changes and their impact on the UK petcare industry, focusing on implications for retailers, wholesalers, distributors, and supply chain operators. Pet Gazette reports on Bank of England decisions, financial market trends, and economic forecasts, alongside analysis of how borrowing costs, consumer spending, and business investment are affected. Our coverage helps pet trade professionals understand the financial landscape, plan budgets, and adapt strategies in response to interest rate movements.
-
Jun- 2021 -16 JuneEconomy
UK inflation hits 2.1% as clothing prices rise
Inflation in the UK rose to 2.1% in May, up from 1.5% in April, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This increase has been fuelled by an increase in consumer spending as the British public comes out of lockdown. Meanwhile, clothing prices jumped by…
Read More » -
Nov- 2020 -5 NovemberCoronavirus
Chancellor extends furlough scheme to March
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced that the furlough scheme will be extended until the end of March, amid increased measures for business support as the UK enters a four-week lockdown. Payments are set to remain at 80% of employeeโs wages. It comes as the chancellor said that it was โright…
Read More » -
Mar- 2020 -13 MarchBusiness Bites
BTโs boss catches it, markets rebounding, pain medication prices spike
Today I am going to rattle through a wider selection of stories than normal because the spread of the virus is hitting so many sectors hard, with key figures in the business community affected. The markets are recovering some of their losses this morning after having their worst selloff since…
Read More » -
Jan- 2020 -15 JanuaryBusiness Bites
Boohoo more valuable than M&S โ a sea-change encapsulated
From a purely journalistic standpoint it is now a de facto clichรฉ to refer toย Marks and Spencerย as the โhigh street bellwetherโ, yet that is the status it has held for so many decades. The once mighty monolith was the first British retailer to reach a market capitalisation of ยฃ1bn and…
Read More » -
14 JanuaryBusiness Bites
Javid mulls three-year passenger duty holiday for Flybe
Things are not looking rosy for low-cost airline, Flybe, but the chancellorย Sajid Javidย may have some proposals that save it from complete collapse. It is reported this morning that he is considering cutting air passenger duty on all domestic flights โ a big boon for all the other airlines but also…
Read More » -
9 JanuaryBusiness Bites
Who would have thought skinny jeans could be anyoneโs undoing?
Itโs not often that the business pages give you a good belly laugh. But today we have the spectacle ofย Marks & Spencerย blaming its poor Christmas trading results partly on an oversupply of skinny jeans for men. Apparently customer surveys revealed that the high street bellwetherโs ranges were โtoo oldโ the…
Read More » -
Nov- 2018 -1 NovemberBusiness
Bank of England puts hold on interest rates due to Brexit uncertainty
The Bank of England has placed interest rates on hold following growing uncertainty around Brexit. A vote to leave rates unchanged held by the bankโs Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) was in favour of leaving rates at 0.75% by 9-0. Financial markets are currently indicating that rates will not rise until…
Read More » -
Jun- 2017 -7 JuneCurrent Affairs
Businesses unable to cope with interest increases, research shows
One in 25 businesses would be unable to pay off its debts if the interest rates were to increase, research from insolvency trade body R3 has shown. Some 79,000 (4%) UK companies said that a small increase would affect them financially, almost a quadrupling (20,000) of figures from previous research…
Read More » -
Jul- 2016 -26 JulyCurrent Affairs
NatWest and RBS could introduce charges for business customers
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which ownsย NatWest, has saidย small businesses could be forced to pay charges on credit balances if interest rates dip below zero. The BBC reported that 1.3 million NatWest and RBS business and commercial customers received aย letter outlining the potential changes.ย Personal customers’ accounts will not be…
Read More » -
Apr- 2016 -12 AprilCurrent Affairs
UK inflation rate reaches 0.5% in March
The UK inflation, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index, rose to 0.5 percent in March 2016, according to the Office for National Statistics. Although the rate has increased gradually since last October – reaching 0.3 percent in February – in terms of historical context it is still relatively low.…
Read More »
