Business News Round Up (15/09/2022)

Consumer confidence sees steepest decline since early stages of pandemic

Confidence among UK consumers has fallen into negative territory for the first time since June 2020. The Consumer Confidence Index from YouGov and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) fell by 4.2 points in August from 103.0 to 98.8, the largest decline since the early stages of the pandemic. It comes as inflation, largely driven by energy price rises, piles pressure on consumers ahead of winter. Both household finance measures – for the last 30 days and the outlook for the next 12 months – dropped by 3.1 points and 10 points respectively. Every other measure also saw worsening scores, including the outlook for house prices plummeting by 7.2 points to 124.9. Perceptions of job security looking ahead fell from 120.9 to 118.5. The survey was taken between 1 and 31 August, before Prime Minister Liz Truss announced her plan to freeze energy bills at £2,500 a year for a typical household. Kay Neufeld, head of forecasting at Cebr, said: “Following a short-lived improvement in July, the 4.2-point fall in August represents the steepest decline since the early days of the pandemic and drags the headline index into overall pessimistic territory. The index was led lower by cratering sentiment regarding future household finances, as warnings about the upcoming increase to the energy price cap reached a climax in August.”

https://www.insider.co.uk/news/consumer-confidence-sees-steepest-decline-27990729

Economic growth – a weak outlook for OECD countries

Economic growth in developed economies remained weak in the second quarter of this year, as the war in Ukraine hampered output in many nations. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said the combined gross domestic product of its 38 members expanded by 0.3% in the second quarter over the first quarter, when it was also 0.3%. That’s well below the average quarterly growth rate of more than 1.2% last year. In the G7, quarter-on-quarter GDP growth increased 0.2% compared with zero growth in Q1 2022. The OECD said this reflected a mixed picture, with contractions seen in the US and the UK, and a sharp slowdown in growth in Germany. That was offset by positive growth in Canada, France, Italy, and Japan. The underlying drivers of growth also showed a mixed picture. Net exports bolstered GDP growth in France and made a positive contribution in the UK and US. However, net exports contributed negatively to GDP growth in Germany. Countries closest to the war in Ukraine saw some big shifts, with Poland moving from GDP growth of 2.5% in the first quarter to a contraction of 2.3% in the second.

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/09/economic-growth-oecd/

Scottish city tech job salaries hit £80,000 a year

The average salary for technology roles has hit £80,886 in Edinburgh – up 13.2% on last year – and £79,736 in Glasgow – up 17.3% on 2021. This is according to the annual State of Tech Salaries report from recruiting marketplace Hired, which found a global increase in salaries across nearly all tech roles, driven primarily by the growth in salaries of experienced professionals. While Hired data shows the number of companies seeking to hire remote junior-level talent has grown, local salaries for junior-level candidates have failed to grow as quickly as salaries for professionals with more years of experience. Despite the growing appetite for remote positions, the 2022 average remote salaries in London are 3.6% less than salaries local to London – the lowest remote to local salaries percentage difference seen across all markets globally. But as remote dominates as the preferred work model, remote salaries have continued to outpace local salaries – 15 out of 17 markets had higher remote salaries, up from 13 markets in 2021 – with remote roles paying approximately £2,540 more on average. In terms of industries seeing the largest salary increases for UK-based roles, the entertainment industry has seen the largest growth, with a 17% increase in average salaries between 2020 and July 2021. Health is another high growth industry, that has shown a 9% increase in salaries in the same time period.

https://www.insider.co.uk/news/scottish-city-tech-job-salaries-27988212

Most active 2022 advisers so far revealed

The North West’s most active advisers so far in 2022 have been revealed in a report by Experian. Experian’s review of the market shows that there were 430 deals announced in total in H1 2022, with the value figure showing a decline of more than 50 per cent from the prior period, to £4.3bn. As far as dealmakers go, Napthens was ranked as the most active legal adviser, ahead of Hill Dickinson and Addleshaw Goddard. Harrison Clark Rickerbys and Pinsent Masons were ranked fourth and fifth respective, with Ward Hadaway and Brabners next on the list. Squire Patton Boggs, Bermans and DWF rounded out the top ten. Dow Schofield Watts was the most active financial adviser, according to the report. Cortus Advisory and K3 Capital Group were ranked next, above Grant Thornton, Altius Group, BDO and RSM. Cowgills, Hazlewoods and MHA Moore & Smalley also made the top ten. Richard Robinson, partner at Napthens, said: “Today’s ranking from Experian is recognition for our whole team and the result of years of hard work, that stretches beyond just the past six months.

https://www.insidermedia.com/news/north-west/most-active-2022-advisers-so-far-revealed