As post-lockdown Christmas cheer clouded by rail union strikes & rising inflation, there’s hope for 2023

It is getting hard to cheer up for Christmas as the rail union strikes threaten to ruin the first proper Christmas in three years since the Covid lockdowns. The cost-of-living crisis and the cold weather are making people choose between eating or heating despite all the costly Government rescue plans. But among all this despair, there is still hope for the following year.

The current reports show there is a chance that the inflation has peaked as it fell from 11.1% in October to 10.7% in November. Market analyst Fawad Razaqzada also commented that even though it is difficult to determine a trend in a single month, the inflation in the US and the Eurozone is slowly going down too.

The pensioners faced the brunt as the state suspended the pension triple lock and gave them only a 3.1% pay rise as the inflation rocketed sky-high into double digits. However, next year the triple lock should be back, and the pension will rise by 10.1% from April. Bank of England predicted that if the inflation drops down to 5%, the pensioners might receive a rise of double the current inflation rate.




Mortgage interest rates went up to tackle inflation putting homeowners under a lot of pressure. They rose to 7% in the wake of the latest mini-budget but are finally returning to 5%. House prices may see a drop of 1% next year.

FAQs:

1. Why is the rail union on strike?
   They went on a strike to protest against low wages.
2. What was the inflation rate for October?
   It rose to a whopping 11.1%.