HOUSEHOLDS MORE WORRIED ABOUT THEIR FINANCES THAN COVID-19

People in the UK are now more worried about their household finances than catching Covid-19, according to a study conducted by University College London (Financial Times). It found that nearly 40 per cent of respondents were concerned about their finances, the highest figure since the start of the pandemic, whereas 33 per cent were worried about catching Covid-19 (The Telegraph). Meanwhile, the latest inflation figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal that the cost of living is rising at its fastest pace for 30 years, with wage growth failing to keep up with rising prices (BBC News).

UK RETAILERS REPORT WEAKER ANNUAL SALES GROWTH

Retailers in the UK reported weaker annual sales growth in March 2022, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) (Reuters). It found that total sales rose by 3.1 per cent last month compared to March 2020 – a significant decrease on the 6.7 per cent annual growth in February 2021. The BRC’s chief executive Helen Dickinson said “the rising cost of living and the ongoing war in Ukraine has shaken consumer confidence” and that people’s personal finances are expected to reach “depths not seen since the 2008 financial crisis” (The Guardian).

NEWS IN BRIEF

The Financial Reporting Council is planning to announce new powers to take control of auditor registrations if audit firms have carried out poor quality work (The Times).

The unemployment rate in the UK fell to a pre-pandemic level of 3.8 per cent in the three months to February, according to figures published by the ONS (Reuters).

Lawyers are preparing themselves for an increase in litigation linked to the impacts of the pandemic, according to a survey carried out by the London Solicitors Litigation Association (LSLA) (City AM).

More than 250 million people around the world could be pushed into extreme poverty this year due to rising food prices and the ongoing impact of Covid-19, according to aid charity Oxfam (The Guardian).