Killik investment chief Paul Kavanagh announces departure September 3, 2014 City stockbroker and wealth manager Killik announced a major departure this morning as partner Paul Kavanagh is set to leave at the end of this year with two colleagues to set up his own company. Kavanagh, chief investment officer at Killik and chairman of Killik & Co's capital division, will leave the company on [...]
Eurozone PMI in graphs: Spain and Ireland report strong services growth, while France and Italy lag behind September 3, 2014 More economic problems for France and Italy. Both countries slipped in to contractionary territory in the Markit PMI stakes, recording composite (manufacturing and services) scores below the 50 point that indicates growth. The Eurozone overall posted at 52.5, revised down from 52.8. BNP Paribas has suggested that the downward revision points to mid-month events affecting [...]
Sex, drugs and charity – the changes to how UK GDP is measured revealed September 3, 2014 Vice sectors such as the sex and drugs trades – alongside those firmly rooted in virtue – have given the UK's economy something of a halo, according to the Office for National Statistics' reworking of GDP data. The once-in-a-generation changes are being drip fed out, with the first – revised real and nominal GDP [...]
Scottish independence: Lloyds’ contingency plans could see move to London if Scots vote yes September 3, 2014 Lloyds’contingency plans if Scots vote for independence could include moving its official offices from Edinburgh to London in order to avoid being classed as a Scottish bank. LATEST: Lloyds confirms move from Scotland to London and RBS to follow The banking group, which owns Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, has formed contingency plans [...]
Growth in UK services is accelerating – so what does this mean for interest rates? September 3, 2014 Could this be the news the hawks have been waiting for? Markit/CIPS PMI data out today shows an acceleration in growth in the services industry which, when combined with the two previous surveys, suggests August saw the fastest economic growth since last November. Adjusting for seasonal factors, the Business Activity Index stood at [...]
China’s services sector grows at the fastest rate since March last year September 3, 2014 After the latest manufacturing figures disappointed, HSBC reports China's services grew at the fastest rate in 17 months. According to figures from HSBC and Markit economics, the purchasing manager’s index posted at 54.1 – the fastest rate of growth since March 2013. With any reading above 50 constituting growth this is a strong [...]
Tory dates backfire: Ukip hijacks Cameron’s birthday and gatecrashes party conference September 3, 2014 What is it with the Tories and inauspicious dates? Ukip must be sniggering at the news that the Clacton by-election is set to take place on 9 October – the same day as David Cameron’s 48th birthday (that’s only four more than the points lead Ukip have over the Conservatives in the Essex seaside resort). [...]
Falling output in France and Italy dampens Eurozone growth September 3, 2014 Falling output in France and Italy has seen the Eurozone manufacturing and services recovery slow to the weakest level so far this year, figures out this morning show. Overall the index was 52.5 in the month, down from 53.8 in July – the weakest of the year so far, although any PMI score above [...]
2018 World Cup: EU countries consider boycott September 3, 2014 The EU is considering a boycott of the 2018 Russia World Cup as a future sanction against the country's role in the Ukraine crisis. Sporting sanctions will not form part of the European Commission's debate about further action against Rusia today, which is expected to announce a ban on the purchase of Russian government bonds. [...]
Uber Germany ban sees signups skyrocket 590pc in 24 hours September 3, 2014 If the German taxi lobby was breathing a sigh of relief yesterday after a Frankfurt court issued a temporary injunction against Uber banning it across the country, it isn't any more. Uber Germany has seen signups in Hamburg alone soar a whopping 590 per cent in the last 24 hours. Rather than shunning the San [...]