Financial services firms account for 9.6 per cent of the UK’s GDP October 24, 2013 CITY FIRMS defied a harsh economic climate to up their contribution to UK GDP in 2011, according to data out yesterday. Financial services accounted for 9.6 per cent of the UK’s national output in 2011, TheCityUK said yesterday, up from 9.4 per cent in 2010. Together with the 4.9 per cent of GDP contributed by professional services in [...]
Eurozone consumer confidence creeps up to highest reading since July 2011 October 23, 2013 Consumer confidence improved marginally in the Euro area in October, with a flash estimate of -14.5, after September's -14.9. This is the 11th month on the trot to see a gain, and the reading is its highest since July 2011. It remained unchanged in the EU at 11.7. Berenberg's Christian Schulz says: "the indicator is [...]
Regulator chief Martin Wheatley says that reform means challenges will give way to fairness October 23, 2013 Chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Martin Wheatley will speak tonight about lessons learnt and challenges ahead for the financial world, highlighting the importance of fairness and cultural reform in preventing future crises. The regulator will say that there is no room for complacency, despite an improving situation: “poor conduct is still a [...]
Ex-ARM boss joins BT as non-exec October 23, 2013 Warren East, the former CEO of Cambridge based chip designers ARM Holdings, will BT as a non-executive director. That appointment will take effect from 1 February (release). East led the creation of ARM's Design Consulting and Development Tools business, and when it went public in 1998 he took up the role of vice president of [...]
SocGen analyst warns that central banks are ignoring housing bubbles amid market euphoria – just like in 2008 October 23, 2013 Many central bankers claim that they're making progress on the problems that caused the financial crisis – but Societe Generale analyst Albert Edwards doesn't believe them. He says that "exactly the same bozos who missed the last bubble deny there is one now." In November 2008 Queen Elizabeth II asked why "no-one saw it coming". [...]
US house price growth in August is slower than expected October 23, 2013 US house prices rose in August by 0.3 per cent, according to data from the Office of Federal Reserve Housing Enterprise Oversight, marking the nineteenth consecutive monthly increase in the purchase-only seasonally adjusted index. This follows expectations of a 0.8 per cent rise and July's 0.8 per cent increase (revised down from 1.0 per cent). [...]
UK needs to be HS2 ready says Lord Deighton October 23, 2013 A growth taskforce led by Lord Deighton has said towns and cities across the UK need to be "HS2 ready." The taskforce has made the claim that the controversial project is a once in a generation chance change the face of the country. Commercial secretary and HS2 Growth taskforce chair Lord Deighton said on Wednesday: [...]
Spanish recovery unlikely to reduce unemployment says Capital Economics October 23, 2013 It is doubtful whether Spain's recovery will be strong enough to reduce the unemployment rate and public debt significantly over the next two years, according to Capital Economics. The Bank of Spain on Wednesday confirmed that Spain had exited a two-year recession largely due spike in exports. Ben May, European economist, Capital Economics: The rise [...]
Government will supply fuel to Scotland as Grangemouth closure interrupts supply October 23, 2013 Ed Davey, secretary of state for energy and climate change, has spoken on Ineos' closure of the Grangemouth petrochemical plant in Scotland, saying that the government "is saddened by this move". Davey said that the plant has significance both for the local community and the Scottish economy. Davey urged the two parties to continue dialogue [...]
Cameron reiterates support for innovation-destroying energy market interventions October 23, 2013 Prime Minister David Cameron has voiced support for energy market intervention in a heated session of Prime Minister's Questions today. While the Prime Minister did support "rolling back the costs that have been imposed on people's energy bills" in the form of energy sector levies, he reiterated his backing for intervention that he claims will [...]