The Financial Times goes ahead with a “red alert” graphic showing GDP and inflation alongside an image of Bank Governor Andrew Bailey, headlined: “BoE warns of long recession as interest rates rise by half a point”. He notes that the outlook is worse than that of the US or the EU. “Britain slips into crisis,” reports the Times, producing a similar graphic showing interest rate hikes under the headline “Black Thursday.” Finance editor Mehreen Khan says the Bank has “unleashed a devastating set of forecasts that would have been scarcely believable a year ago”. The Guardian gives plenty of space to the gloomy climate news, but its main story is the latest rate hike, the Bank’s sixth, and the forecast for 13% inflation. He squarely blames Vladimir Putin for his invasion of Ukraine, quoting Bailey’s line that “there is an economic cost to war.” Guardian front page, Friday 5 August 2022: Bank raises rates, warns of 13% inflation. Plus Special Report on Global Warming: The Burning Issue pic.twitter.com/lQceGMMxMR — The Guardian (@guardian) August 4, 2022 Two newspapers – the i and the Metro – opt for some business-like language under the heading of ‘big pressure’. Placed around a red inflation chart, the i-dots note that economists expect interest rates to rise to at least 3% and that a housing recovery is looming for some already struggling with a cost-of-living crisis. Metro reports that Bailey said the rate hike would hit the less well-off hard, but that “the alternative is even worse.” The Mirror takes aim at Boris Johnson and Nahim Zahawi – otherwise on honeymoon or on holiday – saying the prime minister and chancellor are “missing in action” in its headline, compared to a chart of its revealing inflation forecasts. The Daily Record is just as annoyed with their holiday. The Telegraph focuses on the income shock for families amid the combination of rising energy costs and a predicted recession. “Recession Will Cause Record Drop in Revenue” is the headline. The main story weaves in the dueling views of leadership rivals Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak on how to deal with the crisis, focusing on the merits or otherwise of their plans to cut taxes. The Mail carries a scathing assessment of Bailey’s skills as a skipper. The headline is ‘The banker running out of credit’ and it says he was forced to deny claims he was ‘asleep at the wheel’. The Bank should have raised rates last year, he says. The Express says “Recession is on the way…time to batten down the hatches” and reports that the only good news was for pensioners who are on track for 10% pension rises. The National is taking the opportunity to suggest that a move away from the faltering British bandwagon might be wise, under the headline ‘Now is the time to get Scotland out’. See tomorrow’s front page🗞 Scotland ‘cannot afford to stay in Union’ as worst recession since 2008 looms And Keir Starmer was found to have breached the code of conduct for MPs eight times pic.twitter.com/3o2UMpEjug — The National (@ScotNational) August 4, 2022