More than half of consumers in major economies did not build up their savings during the COVID-19 pandemic, a survey showed.
The research in 18 nations by YouGov PLC, shared exclusively with Bloomberg News, punctures the idea that households have a cushion against a deepening cost of living crisis.
YouGov said that 51 percent of respondents failed to add to their savings during the pandemic.
Photo: Reuters
The rate was lowest for Germany, at 39 percent, while Italy’s figure was just 40 percent. Canada, the UK and US also had results of below 50 percent.
The survey covered 20,000 adults across 18 countries and undercuts hopes that a global savings glut would help households weather a spike in inflation. Instead, it paints an uneven picture of finances, potentially paving the way for deepening inequality in the coming months.
YouGov’s survey also suggests the nest eggs that did accumulate are rarely being spent on luxury items.
Of those who saved, about half are managing to hold onto the extra money, while more than one-quarter spent the money on bills or other essential purchases.
Just 13 percent used it to fund holidays and social events since restrictions lifted, and 19 percent used the money for home improvements or moving house.
British consumers are more pessimistic than their peers in major economies about the prospects for inflation and their own personal finances, YouGov’s survey said.
The findings add to evidence that the UK is being hit harder than most by a surge in consumer prices and shortages after the pandemic.
Of the British respondents, 71 percent expected the cost of living to “increase a lot” over the next 12 months.
That is higher than any other nation and well above the 48 percent reading in the US.
In total, nine-in-10 of those in the UK are bracing for higher costs, also the most in the survey.
The research backs up suggestions from economists that the UK is facing a unique inflation shock — and one that is likely to prove more enduring than in other advanced economies.
On top of the energy and supply chain shocks faced by other countries, the UK is grappling with a falling currency, the aftershocks of its departure from the EU and tax increases that threaten to eat further into incomes.
In the face of those events, 61 percent of British respondents expected their personal financial situation to worsen over the next year.
That is more than any other nation in the poll.
More than one-quarter predicted that things would get “a lot worse.”
FALLING BEHIND: Samsung shares have declined more than 20 percent this year, as the world’s largest chipmaker struggles in key markets and plays catch-up to rival SK Hynix Samsung Electronics Co is laying off workers in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand as part of a plan to reduce its global headcount by thousands of jobs, sources familiar with the situation said. The layoffs could affect about 10 percent of its workforces in those markets, although the numbers for each subsidiary might vary, said one of the sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Job cuts are planned for other overseas subsidiaries and could reach 10 percent in certain markets, the source said. The South Korean company has about 147,000 in staff overseas, more than half
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
An Indian factory producing iPhone components resumed work yesterday after a fire that halted production — the third blaze to disrupt Apple Inc’s local supply chain since the start of last year. Local industrial behemoth Tata Group’s plant in Tamil Nadu, which was shut down by the unexplained fire on Saturday, is a key linchpin of Apple’s nascent supply chain in the country. A spokesperson for subsidiary Tata Electronics Pvt yesterday said that the company would restart work in “many areas of the facility today.” “We’ve been working diligently since Saturday to support our team and to identify the cause of the fire,”
TECH PARTNERSHIP: The deal with Arizona-based Amkor would provide TSMC with advanced packing and test capacities, a requirement to serve US customers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is collaborating with Amkor Technology Inc to provide local advanced packaging and test capacities in Arizona to address customer requirements for geographical flexibility in chip manufacturing. As part of the agreement, TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, would contract turnkey advanced packaging and test services from Amkor at their planned facility in Peoria, Arizona, a joint statement released yesterday said. TSMC would leverage these services to support its customers, particularly those using TSMC’s advanced wafer fabrication facilities in Phoenix, Arizona, it said. The companies would jointly define the specific packaging technologies, such as TSMC’s Integrated
RSS