Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the UK can a dodge a recession in the months ahead even as the cost of living crisis sets the stage for a “difficult” period.
Economic pressures are emerging as the gravest political threat to Johnson and his party, beyond the various scandals that have dogged his government such as the row over illegal parties in Downing Street during the pandemic.
Inflation is at a four-decade high of 9%, and predicted to go even higher, while the Bank of England is expecting a sharp contraction in growth later this year, and a prolonged stagnation afterwards.
But Johnson is more bullish on the outlook. Asked on Bloomberg TV whether the UK was headed for a recession, Johnson said “not necessarily at all.”
“There are ways forward for the UK that are incredibly exciting,” he continued. “If we make sure that we have a proactive approach to talent from abroad — we want to control immigration but allow the talent that we need to come in — we fix our energy supply issues, we fix the issues in the UK labor market.”
“One of the incredible things about the economy right now is that unemployment is at its lowest level since I was two years old.”
The comments come a day after Johnson’s government bowed to intense pressure to do more to tackle the UK’s cost-of-living crisis, unveiling billions of pounds of supports for households. While the move was welcomed as short-term fix, families are still facing soaring energy bills and prices in shops. Some lobby groups have called for a longer-term solution.
“We’re going to have a difficult period, and we’ve got to be absolutely clear with people it’s going to be difficult, and the government cannot solve every problem,” Johnson said. “We can’t cover everybody’s extra cost. But what we can do is make sure that we deal with the underlying causes of inflation, but also keep our economy strong and open to investment.”
With inflation soaring, the government is also grappling with demands for higher pay from public sector workers. Johnson’s senior ministers this week discussed the risk of public pay increases fueling inflation, a further hint that the government is preparing a major showdown with UK trade unions.
Johnson returned to that theme on Friday, saying “what we want is a high-wage, high-skill economy. The increases in wages have got to be driven by productivity gains, and not simply by inflation.”
“What we don’t want to see is a return to the wage-price spiral that we saw in the 1970s,” he said.
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
