IMF slashes world growth forecasts and sounds alarm over fragile recovery – as well as warning on Brexit April 12, 2016 The world is facing an onslaught of risks which could upset the economic recovery, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned, as it cut its forecasts for growth in the global economy – and raised alarm bells about the impact of Brexit for the UK. The IMF’s half-yearly world economic outlook, published today, said everything [...]
Fitch has downgraded Saudi Arabia’s credit rating due to expectations the oil price will stay low April 12, 2016 Saudi Arabia’s credit rating has been lowed be ratings agency Fitch due to the slump in the oil price expected to go on for longer than was previously thought. The kingdom’s rating was knocked down a notch to AA-, from AA previously. In a note Fitch warned that the low price of oil, expected by the agency to continue [...]
Pound jumps against the dollar as UK inflation figures beat expectations in March April 12, 2016 The pound jumped against the dollar this morning, after UK inflation for March beat economists' expectations, data released today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has shown. British consumer prices rose 0.5 per cent year-on-year in March, ahead of expectations for a 0.4 per cent increase, and up from 0.3 per cent a month earlier. Read more: Inflation basket [...]
Shops failing to cash in on low inflation as British Retail Consortium sales monitor shows no growth in March April 12, 2016 Retail sales flat-lined in March, according to the latest sales monitor from the British Retail Consortium (BRC), in an early sign that a wobble in the consumer-led recovery could be on the cards. Total retail sales were unchanged on March 2015, compared to a 4.7 per cent annual increase registered in this month last year. [...]
Central and eastern Europe should adopt the euro to boost their credit ratings April 11, 2016 Adopting the euro would be good news for central and eastern Europe, according to credit ratings agency Fitch, which has said that joining the Eurozone could help lower government debt costs and help attract external financing. Croatia, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania could all see their credit scores move up a notch or two if they [...]
Deutsche Bank and Moody’s predict rising corporate defaults April 11, 2016 Corporate defaults could be about to rise, according to two leading financial institutions, Deutsche Bank (DB), and ratings agency Moody's, who have both warned this morning that the business cycle could be about to take a turn for the worse. Analysts from Europe and the United States at the DB today launched their closely-watched annual default [...]
Weak Chinese inflation points to more government stimulus April 11, 2016 At the start of a data-heavy week for the Chinese economy, the latest inflation figures, released this morning, provided few clues about the health of the world’s second largest economy. Prices for Chinese households grew by 2.3 per cent on the consumer prices index (CPI) measure of inflation over the 12 months to March, “a [...]
City workers warned over looming job losses, bonus cuts, and hard times in the square mile April 11, 2016 Workers in the square mile should brace for deep cuts to both bonuses and jobs with economists warning that faltering deals, stalled IPOs and market difficulties will take an extreme toll on the City over the coming months. No fewer than five separate bodies have issued downbeat forecasts about the state of London's dominant banking [...]
Qatar invites all Opec members to April talks April 10, 2016 Qatar has extended invitations to all members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) to join talks over freezing output at January levels. The meeting, set for 17 April, will also be attended by non-Opec Russia, with other major producers also invited. “The need has become an urgent matter to bring back balance [...]
IMF: Global economy needs negative interest rates, despite massive side effects April 10, 2016 Negative interest rates are the right policy for the world economy, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said, though it has warned central bankers and policymakers to stay vigilant about the potential for the “unprecedented” policy to cause significant side effects. A study published ahead of the IMF’s spring meeting in Washington DC alongside the [...]