Looking for a Swift shift in interest rates
I’ve already heard of a Taylor Swift masterclass being held at a Scottish college, aimed at getting older types up to speed on the music icon in the run up to her Edinburgh concerts last month. But – if it hasn’t happened already –it is likely the US singer will soon be on the curriculum for students of economics.
This is because of what has been described as the “Taylor Swift effect” on inflation. When Tay Tay comes to town, prices are driven up for things such as hotel rooms. And while inflation remained steady at 2 per cent last month –the Bank of England’s target – there was an expectation that core and services inflation would fall.
In terms of what this means for your personal finances, a big area of concern is that mortgages won’t be getting more affordable anytime soon if the Bank decides to keep the base rate where it is, at 5.25 per cent, when it next meets. But don’t despair yet, as there may be some light at the end of the tunnel. Many economics see the Swift effect as no more than a blip and are forecasting that the Bank will cut the base rate on Thursday.
While Swift continues to take the world by storm, some encouraging news emerged this week for women in business in Scotland. The global entrepreneurship monitor (GEM) found that women are starting and running new businesses at virtually the same rate as men for the first time.
The report found that 8.6 per cent of working-age women were actively engaged in setting up a business or already running an enterprise in 2023, slightly lower than men at 9.8 per cent.
The report, put together by the universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow and Strathclyde described this difference as “not statistically significant”. GEM found that the female-to-male gap in entrepreneurship rates is narrowing on a global scale, and Scotland appears to be leading the way.
But when it comes to pensions in Scotland, and across the UK, gaps and inequalities seem to be widening rather than narrowing. On Scotsman Money you can read about the findings of the 20th annual Retirement Report from Scottish Widows, warning that the pension savings gap is growing for large groups of the population.
Also in this edition of Scotsman Money a wide range of interesting topics are expertly analysed by experts at Calton, Waverton Wealth and Aberdein Considine Wealth – from how financial planners are now able to offer clients greater personal choice at more reasonable prices thanks to technology, to easing the burden of school fees, and how to prepare financially for a new arrival to the family.
If you have a personal finance question you would like answered, please email [email protected] and you can sign up for our Scotsman Money newsletter online at www.scotsman.com/newsletter
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