At the close: FTSE storms over 6,000 in shock four day nine per cent rally as share prices stay volatile February 17, 2016 The FTSE 100 has smashed through the 6,000 barrier, less than a week after falling to lows of just over 5,500. The top share index closed at 6,030.32, up 2.9 per cent on the day, adding over nine per cent in the last four trading sessions. The rebound comes amid recent extreme market volatility across Europe's stock markets, [...]
US industrial production starts 2016 in better shape as manufacturing and utilities pick up February 17, 2016 US industrial production was 0.7 per cent lower in the January than in the same month last year, according to figures released by the Federal Reserve today. While the data shows a third month of annual contraction, it is a slower rate than December's 1.8 per cent. Manufacturing, the biggest sub-sector of industrial production, climbed 1.2 [...]
UK housing crisis: The next problem area will be retirement homes February 17, 2016 Talk of the housing crisis conjures up images of first time buyers trapped by sky high prices, as their income is syphoned off into rent. But alongside the cash-strapped "generation rent", there's another age group at risk: the next crisis may well be in retirement homes. At the heart of the difficulties in residential care lies [...]
Oil production freeze: Iran rebuffs Opec petition for an output cut February 17, 2016 Iran has reportedly rejected requests from oil cartel Opec to cut its production, shortly after oil ministers from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Qatar, and Venezuela landed in the country to carry out talks. Iranian oil minister Bijan Zanganeh said Iran would resist any plan to rein in its oil output, Reuters reported. Venezuelan's Eulogio Del Pino, Iraq's [...]
Morgan Stanley: Negative interest rates are a dangerous experiment that will hit bank lending February 17, 2016 Negative interest rates are a “dangerous experiment” that will punish banks and cause lending to contract, Morgan Stanley has warned today. Analysts at the investment bank warned the pressure on lending margins could make borrowing more expensive. "With rates set to remain lower for longer, margin pressure is set to be one of the biggest [...]
Eurozone construction falls one per cent over 2015 February 17, 2016 Construction activity in the Eurozone fell sharply in December, confirming the sector shrank over 2015. Output in the construction sector dropped 0.6 per cent from November to December, according to figures released this morning by Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU. The amount of construction undertaken in the Eurozone throughout 2015 was one per cent lower [...]
US recession risks are rising, so where does that leave the Federal Reserve? February 17, 2016 Since the Federal Reserve in the United States raised interest rates in December (albeit by a very modest 0.25 per cent), concerns have been mounting that the momentum of the US economy is fading, and that the US is in fact facing recession in 2016. What is clear from recent data releases is that the [...]
London house prices: Chelsea garage sells at auction for £360,000 – the price of a three-bedroom flat in Camberwell February 17, 2016 It's cosy and well-located – but doesn't come with a lot of natural light. Still, such is the madness for property in London that a 146 sq ft garage in Chelsea has just sold at auction for £360,000 – just shy of the price of a three-bedroom flat in Camberwell. The garage, just off Brompton Road, [...]
Oil production freeze deal: All eyes of Iran as Opec members try for its participation February 17, 2016 International attention will fall on Iran today, as Opec members try to secure its participation in what will be the first global oil deal in 15 years, potentially by offering its special terms. Today’s outcome is crucial because Saudi Arabia and Russia have said that the agreement to freeze production at January levels is contingent [...]
Employment rises to highest since 1971 – but UK wage growth continued to be subdued in December February 17, 2016 Some 74.1 per cent of the UK population were in employment between October and December 2015 – the highest since records began, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said. The figures, published this morning, showed there were 31.42m people in work during the period, over half a million more than the same time in 2014. But [...]