The Bank of England’s agents’ summary on Brexit, housing and the living wage May 18, 2016 The economic slowdown is set to continue right up until the EU referendum, the Bank of England's latest agents' summary has revealed. The Bank's sprawling network of so-called agents are Threadneedle's streets eyes and ears on the ground of the real economy. They monitor local conditions, talk to businesses, and assess the general state of the nation, [...]
Pound soars against the dollar as Remain takes 18-point lead in new opinion poll May 18, 2016 The pound has shot up against the dollar after a new opinion poll showed the Remain side could be soaring ahead as the EU referendum campaign enters its final five weeks. In a new Ipsos Mori poll for the Evening Standard, released this afternoon, 55 per cent of voters said they were in favour of staying in [...]
Now Markit’s household finance index comes in at a two-year low as families batten down the hatches May 18, 2016 Families are feeling a pinch in their pockets as the latest crucial indicator of consumer confidence falls to a two-year low. The Markit household finances index, which tracks disposable incomes and optimism among UK households crashed to 42.3 – on an index where scores below 50 indicate pessimism – from a score of 45.1 last month. "The reading pointed to a substantial deterioration in [...]
Employment reached a new record high, but economists still aren’t happy May 18, 2016 Employment jumped to a new record high in the first quarter of the year as wage growth held steady, though economists warned that Britain's jobs recovery is still losing steam. The total number of people with a job jumped to 31.6m – an employment rate of 74.2 per cent – in figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) [...]
Former EU adviser says refugee crisis could boost growth and wages in ailing European economies May 18, 2016 The refugee crisis has sparked widespread political strife throughout Europe, with governments struggling to agree on how to manage the influx. But now a former economic adviser to Jose Manuel Barroso says that the wave of migration could provide a €127bn (£99bn) shot in the arm to the continent’s economy. With 1.3m refugees expected to arrive [...]
Bank of mum and dad facing a funding crisis as children rack up £6,000 in withdrawals May 18, 2016 Parents are dipping into savings, eating up their pay packets and even taking out credit cards to provide assistance to their supposedly financially independent children. Over half of all parents have been tapped up by children over the age of 18 for financial assistance from the “bank of mum and dad”, according to a new [...]
US inflation jumps to three-year high as gas prices soar May 17, 2016 Prices in the United States jumped by their highest amount in more than three years during April, as inflation hit 0.4 per cent, putting more steam behind the chances of further interest rate rises this year. The consumer prices index moved up from 0.1 per cent in March, as energy prices increased considerably during the [...]
Inflation rate falls to 0.3 per cent in April due to cheaper clothes and air fares May 17, 2016 Inflation was running at 0.3 per cent in April, figures out this morning from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have shown, denting the trend of slow-and-steady price rises since the start of the year. The headline consumer prices index (CPI) rate fell back from 0.5 per cent in March and is now in line with figures [...]
The five job sectors feeling the biggest Brexit squeeze May 17, 2016 Bad news for the City, especially if you work in human resources – new figures indicate that the Brexit spectre and general economic woes are among the causes of a fall in job vacancies in these areas. Vacancies in HR fell 18 per cent in April on a monthly basis, the biggest decline of any of [...]
Job vacancies fall in April due to National Living Wage May 17, 2016 UK companies are hiring less staff due to the National Living Wage, a new report has concluded. The higher minimum wage was introduced on 1 April and means workers aged 25 and above must be paid at least £7.20 an hour, which equates to a pay rise for 1.3 million workers this year, according to [...]