Sterling bobbed and weaved and ultimately ended up where it started yesterday in what looks like being a quiet week for data.
It’s a purchasing managers’ index (PMI) heavy week, with readings across Europe and the US, and yesterday’s manufacturing PMI was disappointing in both the USA and Germany.
While interest rate rises have been boosting the pound lately, MPs complained yesterday, once again, at how ‘measly’ the banks were being in passing those rates on to savers. The Treasury Select Committee said that banks were “failing in their duty” to encourage saving, and said “The time for action is now”.
Similarly, the UK government also said it would change the law to make fuel retailers provide up-to-date information so that car owners can find the best deal locally. “Some fuel retailers have been using motorists as cash cows – they jacked up their prices when fuel costs rocketed but failed to pass on savings now costs have fallen,” said energy secretary Grant Shapps. Prices “shoot up like a rocket when oil prices rise but fall like a feather when they drop”, said one MP.
In the business news, Facebook’s parent company Meta is launching a rival to Twitter. ‘Threads’ will launch on Thursday. Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund signed a deal to invest $1.3bn in the UK. And Brightline, a transport group, is refusing to pay $250million in royalty fees to Virgin Group because it says that Sir Richard Branson damaged the brand, in being a “tax avoider” while requesting a government handout during Covid.
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