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In our Market Monday insights, Prosperity Investment Management examines the latest developments across the globe's biggest financial markets - providing you with all the latest information you need to know.
Businesses in the UK have pleaded with Chancellor Rishi Sunak to help with the growing cost of living crisis by scrapping the planned national insurance rise due to come into effect in April.
Ahead of Mr Sunak’s Spring Statement to the House of Commons on Wednesday, economists have warned that the increase could wipe £24bn in economic growth over the next decade.
A Randstad survey of 730 businesses employing about 9,000 people found that nine out of ten employers want the government to scrap its 1.25 percentage point rise in national insurance, which is planned for next month.
The calls come amid a backdrop of increasing economic uncertainty, exacerbated by the conflict in Ukraine - with estimates forecasting that inflation will reach 8% later in the Spring.
In other news, the Bank of England has tried to stem the rise in costs by raising interest rates by a further 0.25 percentage points to 0.75%. It marks the third time in four months that the Bank has raised the rate and its highest since March 2020 - just as the first national coronavirus lockdown began.
In the United States, new data showed that February retail sales were disappointing. However, continuing claims for unemployment insurance fell to a 52-year low - showing continued strength in the labour market. Meanwhile, mortgage rates in the country soared as they surpassed 4% for the first time in almost three years.
The Moscow stock exchange has partially reopened after a nearly month-long suspension following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As it stands, only bonds issued by the Russian government can be traded but officials hoped that trading in stocks could resume soon.
