EQ Weekly Roundup 18-10-18

This week’s roundup includes news that UK inflation fell in September, Trump has called the Federal Reserve his ‘biggest threat’ and a survey has found one in seven people are losing money – because they are forgetting their account passwords.

UK inflation falls to 2.4% in September

The UK inflation rate fell more than expected in September, dropping to 2.4% after hitting a six-month high in August.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said lower prices for food and non-alcoholic drinks had helped drive the fall.

It comes as wages are growing at their fastest pace in nearly a decade at 3.1%. The Consumer Price Index figures came as a surprise to economists who were expecting inflation to fall to 2.6%.

Mike Hardie, Head of inflation at the ONS, said: “Food was the main downward pull on inflation as last year’s September price rises failed to reappear, while ferry prices dropped after their surprisingly high summer peak. However, it wasn’t all one-way traffic with energy suppliers pushing up their prices.”

Trump calls Fed ‘my biggest threat’

President Donald Trump has escalated his war of words against America’s central bank, calling the US Federal Reserve (the Fed) his “biggest threat”.

The remarks, made in an interview with US media outlet Fox Business, follow the President’s repeated criticism of the Fed for its decision to raise interest rates.

The Fed maintains the economy is strong enough to handle the increases and has been gradually raising its benchmark rate since 2015.

“It’s independent, so I don’t speak to [Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell] but I’m not happy with what he’s doing,” said Trump.

The comments follow Mr Trump’s attacks on the bank last week, after US share prices dropped suddenly. At the time, he said the bank had “gone crazy” and was “out of control”.

UK wage growth fastest for nearly 10 years

Wages excluding bonuses have risen at their fastest pace in nearly 10 years, official figures show.

Pay rose by 3.1% in the three months to August, compared with a year ago. Last week, Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane said he saw signs of a “new dawn” for wage growth.

The latest official data also showed unemployment fell by 47,000 to 1.36 million in the three months to August. The jobless rate remained at 4%.

David Freeman, the ONS Head of labour market, said: “People’s regular monthly wage packets grew at their strongest rate in almost a decade, but, allowing for inflation, the growth was much more subdued.

“The number of people in work remained at a near-record high, while the unemployment rate was at its lowest since the mid-1970s.”

Lost passwords ‘lead to lost savings’

One in seven people have lost track of their money sitting in savings accounts or pensions – with half blaming lost passwords, a survey suggests.

An estimated seven million people had cash untouched in so-called dormant accounts, government-backed National Savings and Investments (NS&I) said.

Some 52% of those asked who had lost track of their funds suggested it was the result of a forgotten password.

NS&I asked more than 4,000 people whether they had lost track of financial products such as bank accounts, direct debits or signed agreements. The possibility of multiple providers meant that many knew they had money somewhere but were unsure how to access it.

Ian Ackerley, Chief Executive at NS&I, said: “If you think you may have had savings or investments that you have lost touch with, doing a little digging and attempting to reunite yourself with lost funds may provide a chance to rekindle your savings habit.”