we look at what that means for global inflation. i m sally bundock. in many countries around the world everybody is concerned about rising prices. let s start here in the uk, where injust over an hour from now the latest offical inflation figures for december will be released. prices here and across the world have been rising, as supply chains have been hit by the pandemic and energy costs soar. inflation rose to 5.1% in november, that s the highest level the uk has experienced in ten years. one of the main reasons is the rising global price of energy. this has meant higher energy and transport bills for businesses, many of whom pass on the extra costs to customers. our consumer affairs correspondent colletta smith has been up the coast in scarborough, where the family behind an old hotel are having to make tough choices to keep providing warm beds and fresh breakfast. this is a lot of windows. and a huge ceiling. to this is a lot of windows. and a huge ceiling- huge ceiling
favour over the past month. we ve seen sterling rise that will help temper the price pressures from imports. we ve also seen other pressures in the markets where they ve been raising some questions about the bank of england s credibility, as in mortgage rates going up without decisions being made that has all calmed down, too. and the public s expectations of where inflation is going, which were really very high, have now begun to temper. so that s also going in the bank s favour. but a crucial issue is that they have raised rates by 5% the impact of that has really taken some time to filter through into the economy, there is sort of turning the type of rate rises on. turning the tap. we are beginning to see the impact of that now we ve seen in the housing market, we ve seen it in some corporate insolvencies too. so that all leads back to this balancing act between crushing inflation, but avoiding a downturn it s a tight rope and we are probably approaching the m
interest payments some of which are linked to inflation. let s get this in perspective though the uk s national debt is at record levels. it owes £2.69 trillion. that is almost the size of the uk economy the so called debt to gdp ratio is around 97.7%. that is a useful guide to how affordable the debt is for a country. the chancellor has pledged to get that ratio down. the uk s far better off than some of its neighbours though italy s debt to gdp is around 140%. but if we look at germany s that s is only around 65%. but if we look at germany s that s only around 65%. staying in the uk where aside from talk of potential tax cuts there are stark warnings that 2 million people could have their gas and electricity cut off this winter because they can t afford to top up their prepayment meter. that comes from the charity the citizens advice bureau as cost of living pressure continue to bite for many. joining me now is the report author alex belsham harris en
make their last minute pitches across the state. this is the second in a series of state by state contests with donald trump and nikki haley fighting for their party s presidential nomination. that prize will pit them against the democratic choice in november, almost certainly presidentjoe biden. but with a cost of living crisis hitting many americans what are these two candidates saying about economic policy? dr thomas gift is director of the centre on us politics at university college london good to see you again. when it comes to policy it is hard to find what these two are saying at the moment? it find what these two are saying at the moment? at the moment? it is terrific to talk to at the moment? it is terrific to talk to you at the moment? it is terrific to talk to you as at the moment? it is terrific to talk to you as always. - at the moment? it is terrific i to talk to you as always. there is not a whole lot of discussion in terms of policy about the us economy
initiative to start building semiconductors in india, which is also something to keep an eye on. i think more anything else, the headline is that the fact that modi has been given this very glittering high profile state visit, underlines how important the india relationship is for the biden administration. india is proving to be a viable option in terms of of supply chains for american companies, should beijing be afraid? i think beijing has a large lead when it comes to supply chains and i think india is still working through some of its problems. it has had a few high profile successes most importantly apple, but i think in terms of catching up with beijing this is still frankly very early days for india. human rights has become an issue in the recent protests by members of congress but will the business community turn a blind eye to those? it s clear that both the business community and us is looking in terms of business in terms of market opportunity and the skilled manpo