Taking Stock on Wednesday 3rd January 2024
Are you a Bull or a Bear?
UK company bosses turn gloomier about economy
British business leaders have turned more pessimistic about the outlook for the country's economy and they are holding back on investment decisions, according to a survey published on Wednesday.
The Institute of Directors' (IoD) confidence index, which maps the gap between business leaders who are optimistic about the economy and those who are pessimistic, fell to -28 in December from -21 in November, having gradually risen since June.
The IoD called on the Bank of England to start cutting interest rates in early 2024.
"With inflationary pressures abating, business is in dire need of a boost if it is to help drive meaningful economic growth in 2024," Barker said.
Companies Mentioned on today's "Taking Stock"
14:43 East Imperial #EISB
16:54 C4X Discovery #C4XD
19:20 Supply@Me Capital #SYME
19:50 Audioboom #BOOM
22:15 & 32:15 Warpaint London #W7L
24:00 Chill Brands #CHLL
24:05 Supreme #SUP
24:30 & 31:30 Ondo InsurTech #ONDO
27:20 Mkango Resources #MKA
28:13 Getec Group #GTC
33:55 Intercede Group #IGP
38:00 Belluscura #BELL
38:35 Tekcapital #TEK
39:05 Good Energy #GOOD
TOP BUSINESS STORIES
Supermarkets' busy Christmas boosted by promotions, says Kantar
Supermarkets experienced their busiest Christmas period since 2019, boosted by promotions, new research suggests.
Customers made 488 million grocery trips in the four weeks to 24 December, according to research firm Kantar.
Some £13.7bn passed through the tills, even as food price inflation fell to 6.7% in December - the fastest drop Kantar said it had ever recorded.
Although British households spent £477 on average, many still feel "pretty hefty pressures on their budgets".
Kantar described Christmas trading as "a whopper", with Friday 22 December the most popular day when just over 25 million trips to stores were made.
First-time buyers fall to 'lowest level in a decade'
Yorkshire Building Society said around 290,000 first-time property owners entered the mortgage market in 2023 - a decline of more than a fifth on 2022's total of 370,287.
It comes after the housing market was hit by high mortgage rates and house prices last year, along with the ongoing impact of cost of living pressures on consumers.
The building society said 2023's total was the lowest since 2013, when 260,000 first-time buyers entered the mortgage market.