Brexit fears? Pah: GDP growth in the second quarter just beat expectations July 27, 2016 The pound briefly rose against the dollar in early trading, after figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the UK's economy grew 0.6 per cent in the second quarter, beating expectations. Sterling edged up to $1.3134, from a session low of $1.3106, after growth rose above the 0.5 per cent economists had expected for [...]
Spending growth through shopping vouchers – should central bankers be trying new things? July 26, 2016 Over the last few months the term helicopter money – once only used to mock former Fed chair Helicopter Ben – has become common place. For that we can thank the Bank of Japan and its increasingly desperate attempts to kick start growth, culminating this Friday with its latest policy meeting. Many economists are expecting the Bank of Japan [...]
Brexit won’t kill the EU: It’s more likely to be a long-term blessing July 26, 2016 Britain's vote to leave the European Union has engulfed the kingdom in a political, constitutional and economic storm. But it has also plunged Europe into uncharted waters. It may not be prepared for this challenging, uncertain course. We’ve so far witnessed a striking lack of consensus among policy-makers. This is not only in regards to [...]
US economy unaffected by Brexit vote, but attention turns to presidential election July 26, 2016 Fresh economic data from the US has shown the world's largest economy is feeling little fallout from the UK's vote to leave the EU. Both consumer confidence and business activity in the dominant services sector were "virtually unchanged" between June and July, figures out this afternoon revealed, although caution remained the prevailing sentiment as the US winds [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open July 26, 2016 Markets are braced for a raft of tech stock earnings today and later this week and the Japanese yen is surging. Here's what you need to know before the US market open at 2:30pm London time. The pre-market is painting a mixed picture with the S&P down by 0.03 per cent, the Nasdaq is up by 0.16 per [...]
Bank of Japan and Shinzo Abe prepare for next round of stimulus in fight for growth July 26, 2016 Japan's policymakers are gearing up to unleash a new round of massive economic stimulus over the next few weeks in a push to bust the economy out of its low-growth low-inflation malaise. The action will get underway this week in a crunch central bank meeting where markets expect the Bank of Japan (BoJ) to deliver [...]
The Bank of England is all but certain to slash rates next week after Martin Weale’s declaration July 26, 2016 Another member of the Bank of England's rate-setting monetary policy committee (MPC) has signalled their intent to vote in favour of slashing interest rates at next week's meeting, pushing expectations of a cut to a near-certainty. Martin Weale, an independent member of MPC said today in the Financial Times last week's disappointing purchasing managers' index (PMI) had [...]
A stimulus package for the UK this August just became more likely July 26, 2016 A new package of stimulus measures just became more likely the next time the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meets, after a key member indicated he had had a change of heart. The central bank shocked numerous people earlier this month when it opted to keep interest rates at 0.5 per cent. Many had speculated the rate would be cut [...]
As Donald Trump pulls ahead in the presidential race, will 2016 be seen as the high water mark for globalisation? July 25, 2016 John Bew, professor at the war studies department at King’s College, London and lead of the Britain in the World project at Policy Exchange, says Yes. The world has never been more interconnected but globalisation has not been the happy process that many presumed. Potent forces like nationalism, ethnic rivalry and religious sectarianism are making a comeback. [...]
German businesses aren’t that fussed by Brexit as confidence holds up after shock vote July 25, 2016 Business confidence in Germany dipped slightly in July, though firms in Europe's largest economy showed little sign the EU referendum would weigh on their performance over the coming months. The benchmark Ifo business climate survey showed the headline measure of confidence edged back from 108.7 to 108.3 over the past month. Expectations about the future [...]