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5 Things You Need To Know, Today, on Friday 13th January 2023
5. A sharp drop in energy prices, in particular petrol, is helping to ease cost-of-living pressures in the US.
US inflation was 6.5% over the 12 months to the end of December, down from 7.1% in November, the US Labor Department said.
4. Mortgage costs for first-time home-buyers in Britain have risen to their highest since 2008, reflecting a surge in interest rates over the past year, according to the Nationwide Building Society.
The average monthly mortgage payment for a new first-time buyer in the final quarter of 2022 was equivalent to 39% of a single full-time salary after tax, up from 34% the quarter before and the highest since mid 2008.
3. Shareholders are due to vote on competing bids for the planned Britishvolt battery factory in Northumberland.
The result will decide the future of the troubled site, intended to produce battery packs for electric cars.
2. Energy bills could fall further than previously forecast later this year, easing pressure on struggling households, new projections suggest.
Less generous government help means a typical household gas and electricity bill is expected to rise from £2,500 a year to £3,000 a year in April. But finance firm Investec predicts customers are now likely to be paying around £2,478.
1. Official figures out this morning are expected to confirm that the U.K. is now in recession.
Recession officially defined as two consecutive quarters of negative GDP will be confirmed if the economy shows -0.3% contraction for October to December, as forecast, which is follows a -0.3% drop from July to September.