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 [...]
Commerzbank shares up on chief executive’s promise to stay put August 9, 2013 Shares in Commerzbank opened up nearly 2.5 per cent after chief executive Martin Blessing said he would not step down until the bank’s reform programme had been completed. Speaking to German newspaper Handelsblatt, Blessing said it would be “absurd” to leave before this point. I can and want to bring the reorganization of Commerzbank to [...]
Balfour Beatty sells off facilities management arm for £190m August 9, 2013 International infrastructure group Balfour Beatty has announced it will be selling its UK facilities management business to French energy group GDF Suez for £190m in cash. The cash consideration will be reduced to account for liabilities passed on with the business. Completion is expected in the fourth quarter of this year with a net cash [...]
Brazilian finance minister calls for review of “excessive” austerity requirements for Greece August 9, 2013 Brazilian finance minister Guido Mantega has told the Financial Times that the country would like the Greek rescue programmes to be reviewed and made more economically sustainable. The minister was attempting to explain the country’s stance on the issue after its representative at the International Monetary Fund Paulo Nogueira Batista abstained from a vote to [...]
French industrial production tumbles unexpectedly August 9, 2013 French industrial output unexpectedly plummeted in June, with national statistics body INSEE reporting a 1.4 per cent monthly fall following the previous month’s revised 0.3 per cent decline. Analysts had expected to see 0.1 per cent growth (release). Manufacturing fell by 0.4 per cent, falling 0.3 per cent year-on-year. The annual fall was driven primarily [...]