Niesr: The economy is picking up after a sluggish end to 2015 March 9, 2016 Economic growth slowed in the three months to February, but there are some signs it is picking up again. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) said today it believes the economy grew 0.3 per cent between December and February. It marks a slowdown from their previous estimate for growth between November and [...]
Finance jobs of the future: As automation speeds up more routine tasks, finance chiefs need to become more strategic in their work March 9, 2016 Finance chiefs of today might not recognise their department in a few years time, as the function is set to undergo a massive change, according to a report out today. Specialist recruiter Robert Half has discovered that the finance chiefs of tomorrow will be focused more on plotting financial growth for their company, particularly as [...]
The world’s largest sovereign wealth fund had its worst year since 2011 last year, but managed to avoid negative returns March 9, 2016 The Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund has returned 2.7 per cent on its investments in 2015 thanks to a rally in equities late in the year. The low oil price and slowing emerging markets dragged on returns however, meaning the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund recorded its weakest performance since 2011. The oil fund, managed by [...]
UK manufacturing output rebounds in January March 9, 2016 UK manufacturing output bounced back in January, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics this morning. The sector's output increased 0.7 per cent compared with December. Factory output suffered a sharp drop in December and contracted over the whole of 2015. Total industrial production, which includes mining and quarrying as well as manufacturing, also rebounded, rising [...]
The number of people on zero-hours contracts leaped in the final quarter of 2015 – but it’s not why you think March 9, 2016 Oh dear. The government may be doing everything in its power to rid the UK of those pesky zero-hours contracts, but it seems its efforts aren't working: the number of employees on the contracts jumped by 15 per cent in the final quarter of last year, new figures have shown. But before you grab your pitchfork, take [...]
Brent crude and WTI: Oil hold above $40 after EIA data shows US stocks continued to build last week March 9, 2016 Crude prices rose today, despite official data showing US oil stocks continued to build last week. US oil inventories increased by 3.9m barrels last week, ahead of expectations for 3.2m, according to figures from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose 2.6 per cent to $40.7 per barrel today. Meanwhile, West Texas [...]
Brent crude and WTI prices: European markets won’t be hit by a flood of Iranian oil anytime soon March 8, 2016 The sustained oil sell-off was one of the biggest shocks of 2015, and it also looks set to be one of the defining characteristics of the global economy in 2016. So it's easy to understand the panic when economic sanctions on Iran were lifted, allowing the country to export oil again, and adding yet more crude [...]
Negative interest rates come with risks, warns Bank of England’s Martin Weale March 8, 2016 A Bank of England official has warned there are risks of negative side-effects if interest rates are slashed below zero. Negative interest rates are in place in the UK’s biggest export market, the Eurozone, as well as several other countries. But Martin Weale, a member of the Bank of England's nine-strong monetary policy committee, told an audience [...]
Brent crude and WTI oil prices: Brent falls back below $40 a barrel in choppy trade March 8, 2016 Oil prices wavered in and out of the red today, as investors weighed mixed messages from the market. Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell 2.2 per cent to $39.94 per barrel in afternoon trading. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude, the US benchmark, slumped 2.7 per cent to $36.88 They'd inched into positive territory earlier, with analysts telling Reuters [...]
German industrial production rises at sharpest rate since 2009 March 8, 2016 Industrial production in Germany, the Eurozone's largest economy, jumped 3.3 per cent in January on the month before, figures released this morning show. Production was lifted by construction, which rose seven per cent. Manufacturing output climbed 3.2 per cent, the data from German statistical office Eurostat shows. Industrial production makes up nearly a third of the German economy's [...]