Use of cash has risen for the first time in a decade as families turn to notes and coins to help them budget during the cost-of-living crisis. Cash was used to make 6.4bn payments in 2022, according to UK Finance, up 7pc on the prior year and accounting for 14pc of all transactions. The uptick halts years of steep declines in the use of cash. Physical money use fell dramatically during the pandemic, declining by 35pc in 2020 alone compared with 2019. UK Finance said: “Growing fears about...

Andy Haldane has opted for smart-casual today. It’s not the usual office ensemble though for the former chief economist of the Bank of England. Leaning back on a brown leather sofa, a starched white collar pokes out of his grey zipped hoodie in a combination that makes him look as ready for the gym as he is the boardroom. Speaking to me from his holiday home on the Kent coast, he apologises for not being able to attend the interview in person. “Today’s very unusual for me because I go in...

The Bank of England has signalled that interest rates could remain above 5pc until 2026 to tame inflation as it admitted that higher wages and prices are becoming embedded in the economy. Policymakers voted 6-3 to raise interest rates by 0.25 percentage points to a 15-year high of 5.25pc in the fourteenth consecutive increase. Andrew Bailey, the Governor of the Bank of England, said it was vital that officials “make absolutely sure” that inflation fell “all the way back to the 2pc target”. ...

Taxpayers face a bill for an extra £50bn to cover losses on the Bank of England’s money printing, after stubborn inflation triggered frenzied bets on higher interest rates. The Bank’s latest estimate of losses it will suffer over the next decade on government bonds amassed during the pandemic and financial crisis has ballooned by around £50bn to £270bn in just three months. Predicted losses on so-called quantitative easing (QE) reflect bets on higher interest rates to tame UK inflation, which...

The Bank of England risks “over-tightening” in its attempt to get inflation back under control, an outgoing official has warned. Silvana Tenreyro, who will next month leave the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) that sets interest rates after six years, said she believed “rapid successive Bank Rate increases over a period of several months” by officials will be enough to bring inflation back to the Bank’s 2pc target, from 8.7pc in May. Meanwhile Sushil Wadhwani, a former MPC member who is now a...