BUSINESS LIVE: Bailey clears was for Christmas rate hike; Unemployment falls; Vodaphone boosts earnings guidance
Top economists expect inflation figures due today will mark the final reading before a pre-Christmas interest rate rise.
Analysts believe inflation will come in at 3.9 per cent for October, above the 3.1 per cent recorded in September, and far outstripping the Bank of England’s 2 per cent target.
British employers added 160,000 workers to their payrolls in October, the first month after the end of the government’s job-protecting furlough scheme.
The Bank of England is watching closely for how the labour market holds up ahead of its interest rate decision, with the unemployment rate falling to 4.3 per cent in the three months to September.
Vodafone raised its forecast for this year’s free cash flow on Tuesday after it reported 6.5 per cent growth in adjusted core earnings in its first half, driven by a good performance in Germany, its largest market.
The British company raised the floor of its full-year earnings guidance to €15.2billion from €15billion, with the top remaining at €15.4billion, and increased its free cash flow target to at least €5.3billion from at least €5.2billion.
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Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey told the Commons Treasury committee yesterday that a major hurdle for an interest rate hike may have been cleared