Afternoon summary
Time to recap
Government bond yields have dropped sharply, and stocks have surged on Wall Street, after US inflation fell more than expected.
The annual US Consumer Prices Index dropped to 3.2% in October, down from 3.7% in September, a bigger drop than expected.
Prices were flat on a monthly basis, as inflationary pressures eased.
Looking at major categories of CPI - they are all trending lower. Core services running at 3.2%. pic.twitter.com/4Mv19iJY1m
— Kathy Jones (@KathyJones) November 14, 2023
The data bolstered hopes that the US Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates again, and will start cutting next year.
Bond prices jumped, pushing down the yield (or interest rate) on US 10-year Treasuries by aroudn 20 basis points to 4.4%, down from 4.6%.
⚠️BREAKING:
— Investing.com (@Investingcom) November 14, 2023
*U.S. TREASURY YIELDS PLUNGE AFTER WEAK CPI REPORT ADDS TO PEAK RATE BETS
🇺🇸🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/RGT9pY4cK8
The dollar also weakened, driving up the pound by 1.8 cents to $1.246, a two-month high.
Wall Street has rallied strongly, with the S&P 500 index up 1.8% in morning trading.
Here’s the full story:
In other news…
Business insolvencies in England and Wales rose 18% year-on-year in October, as firms struggled under the weight of higher interest rates.
UK real pay has grown at its fastest rate in two years, according to new data which suggests Britain’s labour market has so far emerged largely unscathed from the slowdown in the economy.
The latest health check from the Official for National Statistics found the jobless rate broadly unchanged, a small fall in employment and the strongest rise in pay adjusted for inflation in two years, as the pace of prices rises comes down.
The ONS said the UK’s unemployment rate in the three months to September had remained steady at 4.2% while the employment rate over the same period had dropped by 0.1 points to 75.7%.
The UK boss of McDonald’s has told MPs that widespread cases of sexual harassment and bullying at its fast food shops are “truly horrific” and that the company is doing everything it can to eradicate them.
The world’s biggest offshore wind developer, Denmark’s Ørsted, has lost two of its most senior executives after it abandoned a pair of windfarm projects off the US coast at a cost of more than £3bn.
One of Britain’s biggest property developers is shifting its London portfolio from the City of London to the West End as tenants want to be in vibrant locations with easy access to shopping and leisure activities.
Ministers have come under further pressure to expand the financial support for Britons struggling with the cost of living crisis, after a committee of MPs found some had “slipped through the safety net”.
Pfizer cutting 500 jobs in Kent
Back in the UK, around 500 jobs are to go at pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer’s Kent site.
Sky News reports that the roles are to be cut as Pfizer is discontinuing its pharmaceutical sciences small molecule (PSSM) operations at Sandwich in Kent, the company confirmed to Sky News.
It’s part of a company-wide cost-cutting program, Pfizer said.
Affected staff were notified on Tuesday morning and consultation with these employees is under way.
Update: A Pfizer spokesperson says:
As previously announced, Pfizer has launched an enterprise-wide cost realignment program. Various areas of Pfizer’s global enterprise are making changes to operate more efficiently and effectively. These changes will be implemented on a rolling basis and will differ area to area.
One of the consequences of this program is a plan to consolidate our Pharmaceutical Sciences Small Molecule (PSSM) capabilities, aligned around our portfolio priorities. Therefore, the company has made the difficult decision to propose a discontinuation of our PSSM operations at Sandwich, Kent, impacting approximately 500 roles. Under the proposals, other functions at our Sandwich site will continue with a different size.
Updated
