Prices will go up: Retail bosses issue Brexit “catastrophe” warning May 22, 2016 Retail heavyweights have come out against Brexit, warning that leaving the European Union would be a "catastrophe" for Britain and a "massive shock to the system". The former bosses of four of Britain's biggest retailers – Tesco, Sainsbury's, M&S and B&Q – have warned Brexit will cause prices to rocket, a spike in inflation, job losses and the pound [...]
RAC: Petrol prices to be “kept in check” if oil prices overshoot $50 per barrels May 21, 2016 The RAC assured motorists it expects fuel prices to remain in check, despite a recent uptick in the oil price due to production outages across the world. Supermarkets slashed petrol prices to below £1 per litre in the run-up to Christmas, citing savings from oil prices which had fallen from over $110 per barrel in the middle of [...]
Russia isn’t expecting much from Opec’s next meeting May 20, 2016 Russian energy minister, Alexander Novak, isn't expecting much from the fractured Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries' when it meets early next month. "In my opinion, any decisions on coordination which would require an obligatory fulfilment, are unlikely to be taken," Novak told Russian state TV in an interview. Read more: Opec faced with waning influence [...]
S&P: Energy firms drive corporate defaults to highest since post-financial crisis May 20, 2016 The commodity crunch helped push the number of firms defaulting on their debt to the highest level since 2009, according to credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's. Energy and natural resources companies accounted for more than half of the 72 corporate defaults so far this year. Of these, 29 were in the struggling oil and gas sector, while 12 came [...]
Venezuela’s inevitable and miserable descent May 20, 2016 The lines start to form outside state-run supermarkets at dawn. As the sun rises, hundreds wait patiently in the hope that corn will be delivered in the afternoon. They are often disappointed. This is the reality of daily life for many in Venezuela, a country with the world’s largest reserves of oil and its highest [...]
As the US slaps a 522 per cent tariff on Chinese steel imports, should the world fear a new trade war? May 20, 2016 Eamonn Butler, director of the Adam Smith Institute, says Yes. Things could be much worse than they presently are. In the century to 1950, world tariffs averaged 20 to 50 per cent. Now they average 1 to 3 per cent. But protectionism ain’t dead yet. We’ve seen it aplenty from populist presidential hopefuls Donald Trump [...]
MPC member Gertjan Vlieghe says the Bank of England could cut rates even if UK stays in the EU May 19, 2016 Interest rates could be cut after the referendum, even if the UK votes to stay inside the EU, a member of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee (MPC) has said. Gertjan Vlieghe, who joined the MPC as an external member in September, told an audience at the London School of Economics (LSE) this evening that if there was no [...]
Politics, not economics, could undo the European recovery May 19, 2016 A toxic combination of political risks in Europe pose the greatest threat to businesses across the continent, Standard and Poor’s (S&P) has warned today. Despite strong underlying fundamentals including robust consumer confidence and buoyant M&A prospects, the ratings agency said firms could be knocked off course by any number of political disruptions over the next few months. Brexit, [...]
Labour Leave chair: “falling house prices should be welcomed” May 19, 2016 The chair of Labour Leave has condemned fears around the impact of a Brexit vote on the housing market, stating that the UK should seek a reduction in houseprices. John Mills, chairman of household goods business JML and Labour's largest individual donor, made the comments after a survey of the National Association of Estate Agents [...]
European Central Bank (ECB) is not going to take any more of Germany’s flak May 19, 2016 The European Central Bank (ECB) hit out at criticism of its independence during its monetary policy meeting last month in some surprisingly fiery minutes published this afternoon. The ECB said that it was vital to "counter the perception that monetary policy could no longer contribute to a return of inflation," as the minutes revealed growing exasperation [...]