As the US slaps a 522 per cent tariff on Chinese steel imports, should the world fear a new trade war? May 20, 2016 Eamonn Butler, director of the Adam Smith Institute, says Yes. Things could be much worse than they presently are. In the century to 1950, world tariffs averaged 20 to 50 per cent. Now they average 1 to 3 per cent. But protectionism ain’t dead yet. We’ve seen it aplenty from populist presidential hopefuls Donald Trump [...]
MPC member Gertjan Vlieghe says the Bank of England could cut rates even if UK stays in the EU May 19, 2016 Interest rates could be cut after the referendum, even if the UK votes to stay inside the EU, a member of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee (MPC) has said. Gertjan Vlieghe, who joined the MPC as an external member in September, told an audience at the London School of Economics (LSE) this evening that if there was no [...]
Politics, not economics, could undo the European recovery May 19, 2016 A toxic combination of political risks in Europe pose the greatest threat to businesses across the continent, Standard and Poor’s (S&P) has warned today. Despite strong underlying fundamentals including robust consumer confidence and buoyant M&A prospects, the ratings agency said firms could be knocked off course by any number of political disruptions over the next few months. Brexit, [...]
Labour Leave chair: “falling house prices should be welcomed” May 19, 2016 The chair of Labour Leave has condemned fears around the impact of a Brexit vote on the housing market, stating that the UK should seek a reduction in houseprices. John Mills, chairman of household goods business JML and Labour's largest individual donor, made the comments after a survey of the National Association of Estate Agents [...]
European Central Bank (ECB) is not going to take any more of Germany’s flak May 19, 2016 The European Central Bank (ECB) hit out at criticism of its independence during its monetary policy meeting last month in some surprisingly fiery minutes published this afternoon. The ECB said that it was vital to "counter the perception that monetary policy could no longer contribute to a return of inflation," as the minutes revealed growing exasperation [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open May 19, 2016 Markets are still reeling from the Fed's warning that they're not taking the possibility of a June interest rate hike seriously enough and ratings agency Moody's has downgraded US growth prospects. Here's what you need to know before the US market open at 2:30pm London time. The pre-market is not looking strong this morning follow [...]
Grexit threat fades as Greece records multi-billion euro surplus May 19, 2016 Greece recorded a budget surplus of €2.4bn (£1.8bn) in the first four months of 2016, in the latest sign that the country's bailout programme is on track. The surplus in Greece's central government primary budget smashed its own target of around €500m off the back of lower spending by the Syriza-led administration. Spending was more than €2bn below [...]
Buy to let stampede not enough to stop mortgage lending from rising in April May 19, 2016 The housing market shows no sign of letting up as mortgage lending came to a post-crisis high for the month of April, despite the buy to let stampede in March. Gross mortgage lending – the amount dished out by lenders to people buying new homes – came in at £18.5bn in April, up 16 per cent over the year [...]
Lots of shopping stopped the economy from dropping… maybe May 19, 2016 Brits did not let poor weather, referendum nerves or weak confidence stop them from hitting the shops last month. Retail sales volumes were 4.3 per cent higher in April than last year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), as falling prices brought shoppers out in their droves. Over the month, sales were up [...]
Alistair Darling and Michael Howard clash over Brexit campaign at CBI dinner May 18, 2016 Two grandees of the Leave and Remain campaigns dramatically crossed swords last night, when a former chancellor and former home secretary clashed over the ramifications of the referendum vote at the CBI's annual dinner. The glitzy black tie event, hosted at Grosvenor House on Park Lane, saw Labour peer Alistair Darling and Tory peer Michael Howard [...]