Bank of England: The British must accept their financial difficulties

The chief economist of the Bank of England stressed that the British must accept the decline in their purchasing power in the face of the historical cost of living crisis in order not to feed inflation, stressing the need for monetary policy to remain strict.

The chief economist of the Bank of England stressed, on Tuesday, that the British people must accept a decline in their purchasing power in the face of the historic cost of living crisis in order not to fuel inflation.

Hugh Bell emphasized in Bocast that while inflation has been triggered by shocks outside the UK from the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine, it is also being boosted by efforts by Britons to maintain their standard of living, as companies raise their prices and employees demand salary increases.

According to Bell, "Somehow in the UK, people have to accept that their situation has worsened and stop trying to preserve their real purchasing power."

He added, "This reluctance to accept that we are in a worse situation breeds inflation."

These statements come at the height of the cost of living crisis and with inflation remaining above 10%.

The Bank of England has raised interest rates 11 consecutive times since late 2021, in an effort to control consumer prices.

Bell also noted that monetary policy must remain tight enough to curb inflation but warned that very high rates could cause significant damage to the economy.

The pound sterling lost 0.74% of its value against the dollar, reaching 1.2395 at 14:55 GMT on Tuesday.

"Putin look-alikes" raise controversy about his hiding and the Kremlin comments: lies!

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied allegations of a look-alike to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and indicated that he had the health one would wish for himself.

The Kremlin has rejected what it says are lies that Russian President Vladimir Putin has doubles to replace him and spends most of his time in a nuclear radiation bunker.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made the comments about what he described as slanders against Russia, during a speech in which he touched on the country's history since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the causes of the Ukraine war and alleged betrayal by Western society.

Peskov said during a conference in Moscow: "You may have heard that he (Putin) has many doppelgangers who carry out his work in his stead while he is sitting in a hideout," and then said with a laugh: "Another lie."

He added, "You see for yourselves what our president looks like. He was and still is very active, and whoever works next to him hardly catches up with him."

He continued, "You can only envy him for his energy. We only wish him good health, God willing. And of course he is not hiding. This is also a lie."

The Kremlin has repeatedly rejected speculation that Putin, who has led Russia since 1999, is ill.

During an official visit to Moscow last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping told Putin he was convinced voters would support the Russian leader again in the 2024 presidential election. Putin has not yet announced whether he will seek another term.

Putin has vowed since assuming power to end the chaos that prevailed in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, but Russia's attack on Ukraine is the most serious military crisis faced by any Russian president since the Soviet-Afghan war between 1979 and 1989.

The conflict in Ukraine sparked the fiercest confrontation with the West since the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, while Putin vowed to shift attention from the West to China.