CBI urges firms to let employees work flexibly on EU referendum day June 7, 2016 The CBI is urging 190,000 companies to let its employees work from home on 23 June in order to enable them to vote in the EU referendum. Carolyn Fairbairn, CBI director-general, said that the referendum will be the "biggest decision that most of us will get to vote on in our lifetimes". She said: “The decision on whether [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open June 7, 2016 Markets are still cheering Yellen all but taking the June interest rate hike off the table and the Associated Press has called the US Democratic presidential nomination for Hillary Clinton ahead of today's primaries across the country. Here's what you need to know before the market open at 14:30 London time. Markets are still riding the wave [...]
Sterling jumps back and Remain odds cut on latest EU referendum poll June 7, 2016 A strong poll for the Remain side has sent the pound surging today in the latest swings in the currency markets. After yesterday's dramatic fall, the pound has climbed by more than one per cent against the US dollar to stand at $1.4592 this lunchtime. The shift came after a new poll by ORB found the Remain side [...]
Eurozone GDP growth confirmed at 0.6 per cent – faster than US and UK June 7, 2016 The Eurozone grew a little faster than expected in the first quarter of this year, the most recent back-and-forth revisions to official GDP statistics have revealed. Figures published by Eurostat this morning confirmed that the Eurozone economy grew by 0.6 per cent during the first three months of the year, up from the most recent estimation of [...]
EU referendum: Where does your industry come on the Brexit hit list? June 7, 2016 Had enough of people talking about vague referendum uncertainty and a post-Brexit hit to the UK economy? Suspicious they don't really know what they're going on about? With so many warnings about thousands of pounds lost here, higher costs over there and general panic just about everywhere, it's understandable. In an attempt to get a [...]
Halifax says house prices could be reaching unsustainable levels as property prices soar despite EU referendum June 7, 2016 There were no surprises in the latest numbers on house prices, released this morning – they are still going up. The average house was worth £213,472 in the three months to May, according to the Halifax house price index, 9.2 per cent more than the same period last year. The bank said the same old story [...]
Lord Heseltine wants Teeside to become an economic powerhouse June 7, 2016 Teeside can become an economic powerhouse following the collapse of the steel industry, former deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine has said today. In a new report, "Tees Valley: Opportunity Unlimited" prepared for the government, Heseltine said parts of the region had descended into a "scene of desolation", and called for more investment into the area, a [...]
Ignore Remain’s Brexit deceptions: EU backers are the real protectionists June 7, 2016 Following Michael Gove’s impressive performance in the Sky “debate” last week, the Stronger In campaign was always going to clutch at straws to find some supposed slip-up to exploit. This time it was Gove’s admission that “I cannot say that everybody in their current job will keep their job” following a Brexit. This, the Remain [...]
Pubs, restaurants, garden centres and clothes stores win in early summer spending spree June 7, 2016 Consumer spending roared back in May with shoppers celebrating the arrival of warm weather by splashing the cash in pubs, restaurants and garden centres. The latest spending data from Barclaycard showed consumer spending jumped 3.6 per cent after weak figures for March and April saw growth fall to a two-year low. Spending in pubs jumped [...]
Retail sales back to growth in May as warmer weather encourages spending June 7, 2016 Retail sales picked up in May as consumers took to the internet to start their summer splurge. Sales grew by 1.4 per cent in the UK retail industry, following two months of flat-lining, in a welcome, if modest, boost to the struggling industry, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Once again, however, sales growth was driven [...]