The Bank of England raised interest rates from 0.5% to 0.75% last week, emphasising its determination to fight sky-high inflation, which is now expected to hit 8% by the end of June. The bank's interest rate hike is the third increase in a row in as many policy meetings. The bank's policymakers cited the rising cost of living and strong employment as the reasons for the latest rate rise.
The bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) stated that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would also “accentuate both the peak in inflation and the adverse impact on activity by intensifying the squeeze on household incomes”. The MPC said that economic growth in countries that are net energy importers, including the UK, was likely to slow and that inflation could climb even higher in the autumn when energy prices are set to rise again.
Also covered in the episode are recent insolvency statistics, and some changes we are beginning to see in the number of company administrations.