M&S Energy rebounds from mis-selling accusations launching cheapest deal on the market August 9, 2013 M&S energy has launched the cheapest energy deal on the market, just days after hitting the headlines for alleged energy mis-selling. The Fix & Save plan comes in at £1,139 per year, and protects customers from price hikes until the end of September 2014. There is, however, a cancellation fee of £50 before this end [...]
Spanish prime minister sets ambitious target for tax reform programme August 9, 2013 Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy has set an ambitious target for the implementation of the country's tax reform programme – the end of March 2014. The reform programme was announced at the end of April this year, aimed primarily at increasing competitiveness and flexibility in the Spanish economy and getting rid of "bottlenecks". The priorities [...]
Canadian unemployment rose unexpectedly last month August 9, 2013 Unemployment in Canada increased to 7.2 per cent in July from 7.1 per cent the month before. Analysts had expected no change. Similarly, the labour force participation rate fell to 66.5 per cent from 66.7 per cent. The number of people in employment fell by 39,400 – versus expectations of a 10,000 increase.
Japanese government debt hits 1,008,600,000,000,000 yen August 9, 2013 Japanese national debt has passed the one quadrillion yen mark – increasing 1.7 per cent to 1,008,600,000,000,000 yen (£6.730 trillion). This is larger than the economies of the UK, Germany and France combined and is about 230 per cent of GDP. Earlier this week, the International Monetary Fund called on Japan to adopt a “credible” [...]
Four charts showing the state of the UK economy since the financial crisis August 9, 2013 [All charts are taken from the Office for National Statistics' August economic review] Construction, production and services all grew in the second quarter of the year – but services is the only one anywhere near its pre-crisis peak. The unemployment rate doesn't look set to fall below the Bank of England's threshold any time soon. [...]
HSBC appoints insider to head up new capital financing unit in Asia August 9, 2013 HSBC has appointed Stephen Williams as head of the Asia Pacific division of the bank’s newly created capital financing unit, Reuters was first to report. Williams is currently HSBC’s head of global capital markets in the Asia Pacific region in Hong Kong, and has held senior positions at UBS and JP Morgan. He graudated with [...]
PetroChina mulls further step towards Iraqi oil dominance August 9, 2013 Chinese energy giant PetroChina will be joining Exxon Mobil to develop Iraq’s West Qurna oilfield and is in talks with Lukoil to buy a second project at the field, Reuters has reported. The news site quoted an industry source with direct knowledge of the deal, saying the agreement would be announced within week. Exxon currently [...]
Housebuilding drives construction output up in second quarter August 9, 2013 Output in the UK construction industry increased by 1.4 per cent in the second quarter of the year compared to the previous quarter and 0.5 per cent year-on-year. This was driven primarily by housebuilding, which rose by 8.6 per cent quarter-on-quarter. New orders were at a 15-month high fuelled by residential building. The Office for [...]
IEA warns of oil supply problems in Iraq and Libya and cuts 2014 demand growth forecast August 9, 2013 The International Energy Agency has increased its oil demand forecast for this year to 29.8m barrels per day (bpd), up 200,000 from its previous estimate. However, it has warned against supply shortages from Iraq and Libya and cut its forecast for growth in demand for 2014 by 100,000 bpd to 1.11m bpd. Protests in Libya [...]
UK trade deficit narrows considerably more than forecast August 9, 2013 The UK’s total trade deficit in the second quarter of the year was £24.9bn, down six per cent from the first quarter of 2013, while trading activity increased significantly. Imports rose to £103.3bn, the highest level since the three months to November 2011, and exports hit a record high fo £78.4bn. For countries outside the [...]