hello, it s time now for the top business stories. we start here in the uk where the cost of borrowing is on the rise again the bank of england is widely expected to raise interest rates by at least 0.25% as it battles to bring inflation under control. it would be the 14th rate rise in a row, piling yet more pressure on many households and businesses. the bank s main interest rate is already at 5% the highest in around 15 years. inflation is beginning to ease, but consumer prices are still rising at almost 8% a year that s four times the bank s target. so it has a tricky balancing act to perform reining in inflation without strangling the economy as our economics editor faisal islam explains. there s been a couple of things that have gone in the bank s
to this by increasing bank rate by 0.5% at thejune meeting. since then, more pay growth has come in stronger than expected, other data news has been more mixed in terms of its implication for the persistence of inflationary pressures and thus the outlook for inflation in the medium term. that is why the mpc has voted to increase the bank rate by 0.25% today. given the significant increase in bank rates since the start of the cycle, it is restricted in our view. the evidence is now the that it in our view. the evidence is now the thatitis in our view. the evidence is now the that it is having an impact. to return inflation target, policy needs to continue to be restrictive and today we have taken the decision thatis and today we have taken the decision that is consistent with that which will help to return inflation to its target. i m not going tojudge
many economists expect the base rate to rise by 0.25 percentage points, to 5.25%. that would be the highest rate for more than 15 years. it ll be the bank s latest move to combat high inflation. let s talk to our work and money reporter peter ruddick. just reporter peter ruddick. talk us through why the ba doing just talk us through why the bank is doing this and what it means for people who, for example have mortgages? mortgages? absolutely. it is a twistin: mortgages? absolutely. it is a twisting day mortgages? absolutely. it is a twisting day for mortgages? absolutely. it is a twisting day for the mortgages? absolutely. it is a twisting day for the bank - mortgages? absolutely. it is a twisting day for the bank of i twisting day for the bank of england. 18 months on from the first interest rate hike, essentially, backin interest rate hike, essentially, back in december 2021. think what we are beginning to get now is the economic theory meeting the reality for households and b
growing at a slower rate for the past two months, but inflation remains at nearly 8%, four times higher than the official target. hannah miller has this report. for father of two peter, sorting out the family finances is proving hard. he and his wife bought their first home using the help to buy scheme. but when their mortgage comes up for renewal early next year, they ll have to find an extra £750 a month in repayments. somehow we re supposed to spend less and find £750 extra a month to pay for that. so, you know, for many families, it s a terrifying situation. if you have young families like ourselves who have been swayed into the housing market by government, whose advertised help to buy as an affordable scheme, right, when things become unaffordable, you can t simply turn around and say, that s your problem. a rise of 0.25 percentage points would take the bank
for father of two peter, sorting out the family finances is proving hard. he and his wife bought their first home using the help to buy scheme. but when their mortgage comes up for renewal early next year, they ll have to find an extra £750 a month in repayments. somehow we re supposed to spend less and find £750 extra a month to pay for that. so, you know, for many families, it s a terrifying situation. if you have young families like ourselves who have been swayed into the housing market by government, whose advertised help to buy as an affordable scheme, right, when things become unaffordable, you can t simply turn around and say, that s your problem. a rise of 0.25 percentage points would take the bank of england s base rate to 5.25%, the highest since april 2008. for someone with an average tracker