Interest rates have risen for the second time in three months as the Bank of England tries to curb a rapid rise in the cost of living. The hike to 0.5% from 0.25% came as the Bank warned that price rises could speed up. Prices are expected to climb faster than pay, putting the biggest squeeze on household finances in decades. It comes as the chancellor unveiled a support package to help households cope with a 54% jump in energy bills. Rising gas and electricity costs are the main factors pushing up prices across the economy. Inflation, as measured by

Unions have reacted with fury after the Bank of England boss urged workers not to ask for big pay rises, to help stop prices rising out of control. Andrew Bailey told the BBC wage rises needed to be moderate with firms showing “restraint” in pay talks. When asked whether the Bank was asking workers not to demand big pay rises, Mr Bailey, said: “Broadly, yes.” Downing Street and the Treasury distanced themselves from Mr Bailey’s comments. The GMB union branded the comments a “sick joke”, while the TUC said calls for pay restraint were “ill-founded”. “Telling the hard-working people who

Amazon is raising the price of its Prime service for US customers after reporting record sales and profits. The e-commerce giant said it was hiking the price by 17% to $139 for annual membership. The firm, which cited increased wage and shipping costs, said it had no announcements to make about other countries “at this time”. It is the first increase since 2018 for Prime, which gives subscribers access to benefits like faster shipping. More than 200 million people globally pay for the service, many of them in the US. Amazon shares soared almost 15% in after hours trade on

The US saw strong hiring last month, despite disruption caused by the Omicron variant of coronavirus. Employers added 467,000 jobs, the Labor Department said. That was far better than analysts had predicted. The jobless rate inched up from 3.9% in December to 4%, but that was due to more people looking for work. Analysts said the robust job creation was likely to add to the pressure on the US central bank to raise interest rates next month. The monthly survey also revised up its estimates for hiring in December, providing more support for those who say the economy will remain