The IMF’s strawman critique of “neoliberalism” puts successful liberal reform in jeopardy June 1, 2016 The International Monetary Fund published a paper last week which was widely reported as a repudiation of “neoliberalism”. According to the Fund, the opening up of countries to free capital flows and a desire for fiscal consolidation over the past three decades have not delivered obvious economic benefits. In fact, these policies were said to [...]
EU referendum: Britain Stronger in Europe and Vote Leave trade blows over Brexit jobs risk June 1, 2016 If the UK leaves the European Union and the single market, London could miss out on tens of thousands of extra jobs, pro-EU campaigners have claimed, as Remain campaigners today seek to put forward the case for membership from manufacturers. Analysis by the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR) for the official Britain Stronger in [...]
2016 set to be year of retail failures as number of shoppers on Britain’s high streets in “terminal decline” June 1, 2016 The number of consumers on Britain’s high streets is in “terminal decline” as shopping habits change fundamentally, raising the prospect of more retail failures this year. Speaking to City A.M. after the demise of suits-specialist Austin Reed was confirmed yesterday, Diane Wehrle from top retail analyst Springboard said: “We’re no longer going to see increases in footfall [...]
A shock poll showing an emerging lead for Brexit campaigners has hit the value of sterling May 31, 2016 Sterling plummeted yesterday after two surprise polls showed the British public moving closer towards a vote to leave the EU. The pound dropped to below $1.45 against the dollar last night, printing its lowest value since 23 May. The drop followed the publication of a shock poll yesterday afternoon which showed a possible lead for [...]
New polymer banknotes could cost businesses £236m to implement May 31, 2016 New polymer banknotes being introduced by the Bank of England (BoE) in September this year will cost businesses a staggering £236m to implement, research by an independent payments consultancy has found. CMSpi claims that the process of switching to polymer banknotes will leave businesses with a hefty bill, thanks to the costs of upgrading and replacing cash-handling [...]
Investment bank Societe Generale says Osborne will miss his target of a budget surplus by tens of billions of pounds May 31, 2016 George Osborne will not even come close to meeting his budget surplus target and the next move for UK interest rates will be down, according to Societe Generale's gloomy global economic outlook, published today. The investment bank said risks were stacking up across the world and the current "sweet spot" for financial markets could come to [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open May 31, 2016 It's the last day of May, people are back at their desks after a long weekend in the UK and the US and markets in New York are pointing up. Here's what you need to know before the US market open at 14:30 London time. Ahead of the open the S&P is up by 0.04 [...]
Germany and UK push EU unemployment down to post-crisis low May 31, 2016 Unemployment across the European Union reached a seven-year low in April, as Germany clocked a record-low jobless rate and the UK registered its highest ever number of people in work. The rate of unemployment for the entire EU came in at 8.7 per cent in April, down from 8.8 per cent a month before – the lowest [...]
Inflation rate still negative in Eurozone as ECB policies having muted effect May 31, 2016 The Eurozone remained locked in deflation in May 2016, according to flash estimates released this morning by Eurostat. Inflation, on the harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) across the 19-member single currency union came in at minus 0.1 per cent, up slightly from minus 0.2 per cent in April. The main index was dragged down by [...]
The 14 Google searches that can predict Britain’s unemployment rate May 31, 2016 The three billion searches we make across the world each day using Google may tell us more than simply the latest celebrities everyone is reading about – the massive data points could in fact help us make economic forecasts. Researchers in Finland have managed to put the information to a very valuable use and say they can predict a [...]