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Bank of Englan policymaker needs more evidence before rate cut
Bank of England policymaker and economist Megan Greene believes more evidence is required before she votes to cut rates.
Greene wants to see clearer proof that inflation pressures are easing, having only decided to drop the call to raise rates at the start of February.
"Markets are pressuring every central bank to cut rates. I would need to wait to see more evidence that inflation wasn't as entrenched as we may fear before I would be willing to vote (for a cut)," she said.
The comments echo those made by Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey, who defended the decision to hold rates, arguing that price inflation in the service industry and high wage growth were still affecting total inflation figures.
Inflation fears creep in after latest flash PMI data
The FTSE 100 lifted out of the red to rise 5 points after the latest round of flash PMI data.
Inflation pressures "remained high" in February, according to the data, extinguishing hopes of an early rate cut.
Input price inflation rose to its highest level since August last year after the service industry experienced a wave of salary increases.
Chris Williamson, S&P Global's chief business economist, said the acceleration in services inflation was "stubbornly elevated thanks to higher wage costs and the pass-through of some higher goods prices”.
Meanwhile, manufacturers only experienced a slight rise in their input prices, showing resilience against the negative impacts on supply chains and shipping costs caused by the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.
Supplier lead times increased by the greatest amount since July 2022.
Williamson added: "The resulting increased cost of shipping contributed to the largest monthly rise in selling prices for goods seen over the past nine months.
"With growth accelerating and prices on the rise again, February’s data mean policymakers are increasingly likely to err on the side of caution when considering the appropriateness of cutting interest rates."
Hays to cut more jobs as recruitment industry weakens
Hays (LON:HAYS), the recruitment firm, has warned that more job cuts will take place in 2024 after it suffered a 70% drop in profits during the first half.
A weakened hiring market across the globe led to the company cutting around 9% of its workforce, with the number of consultants employed dropping by 12% to less than 8,000.
Job cuts in the first quarter of the 2024 calendar year are expected to see the Hays workforce shrink by an additional 3% to 4% as the recruiter aims to shed £20 million in costs during the first half.
It comes after management made around £30 million in annual cost savings during the last six months of 2023.
However, the cost-cutting wasn't able to stop profits from slipping by 71% to £27.6 million in the same period.
Shares in Hays are trading flat at around 95p on Thursday.
Japanese market closes on all-time high
Across continents and in the east, Japanese investors saw the main stock index close at an all-time high, surpassing the record set back in 1989.
The Nikkei 225, which includes companies like Sony, Mitsubishi, Nintendo and SoftBank, closed trading on Thursday around 2% higher at 39,098.68.
It beats a nearly 35-year-long record, with the index last reaching 38,915.87 back in December 1989.
One key driver of the surge was Nvidia's earnings beat, providing positive read across for Japanese electrical and semiconductor manufacturers.
At the close, all three top risers, Screen Holdings (+10%), Advantest (+7.5%) and Tokyo Electron (+6%), were all semiconductor companies.