London housing crisis? Deloitte and other businesses might soon have to build houses for staff January 21, 2016 The ever increasing cost of living in London has led one of the City's biggest employers to consider building its own housing for junior staff. Deloitte has already helped younger staff joining the firm with securing rental accommodation because of the struggles of finding somewhere affordable to live in the capital. But now it has said it may even need [...]
Brent crude and WTI: Oil prices steady after a shaky start January 21, 2016 Oil prices steadied today, shrugging off a shaky start which saw it fall back towards 12-year lows touched earlier this week. Brent crude, the global benchmark, increased 1.22 per cent to $28.22 per barrel. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude, the US benchmark, rose 0.95 per cent to $28.54. But the black stuff is still down by [...]
Eurozone consumer confidence edges down in January but remains at elevated levels January 21, 2016 Eurozone consumer confidence has fallen this month, according to figures released today. The European Commission's flash consumer confidence indicator dropped 0.6 points to a score of minus 6.3 in January. However, the figures show confidence is still at historically high levels. Flash figures are estimates based on incomplete survey data. Final figures based on all survey reponses will be published [...]
Bank of England’s Martin Weale says wage growth is too slow for an interest rate hike January 21, 2016 Another member of the Bank of England's rate-setting committee as flagged up slow wage growth as a reason they are likely to hold off on voting for an interest rate increase. "Whatever the causes of the recent weakness, inflation is unlikely to recover back to target without a marked improvement in wage growth," Martin Weale [...]
Euro plummets as Mario Draghi opens the door for more easing in March January 21, 2016 Eurozone monetary policy could be loosened further in March, European Central Bank (ECB) chief Mario Draghi has suggested. The euro immediately dropped 0.6 per cent against the dollar. European stocks shot up, with the German Dax rising over one per cent, building on earlier gains. The French Cac 40 also jumped an extra one per cent after [...]
European Central Bank holds interest rates at record lows January 21, 2016 The European Central Bank decided not to cut interest rates further today. The interest paid on deposits kept at the Frankfurt-based central bank was kept at minus 0.3 per cent. It was cut to minus 0.2 per cent last month while the ECB also ramped up its €60bn asset purchase programme in December, extending it by six [...]
From every angle, the outlook for global liquidity looks bleak: Policy makers must adopt “QE4” or risk officers must plan for low liquidity future January 21, 2016 Recent investor concerns over decreasing market depth across many fixed income segments reflect more serious downstream problems in funding markets. These problems are now coming to a head, have four components which taken together combine to undermine the long-term supply of global liquidity. They explain why our monthly GLI index measure is declining. Looking ahead, they [...]
Mortgage lending hits post-recession high of £220bn in 2015 January 21, 2016 Mortgage lending rose by eight per cent last year compared with the year before, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said this morning. Lenders approved £19.9bn of home loans in December, taking the 2015 total to £220.3bn – the highest annual figure since 2008. December's lending figure was slightly down on November, but was 23 per [...]
Market turmoil terminology: What are the definitions of a a bear market, a bull market and a correction? January 21, 2016 The New Year sell-off has sent equity markets across the world into bear territory. But rather than a single, fatal trigger, it appears a general sense of unease over the slowing global economy is sending investors running for the hills. Yesterday, the FTSE 100, Japan's Nikkei and the MSCI All-Country World indices all joined the Shanghai Composite, France’s Cac 40, the German Dax [...]
RICS: Housing demand jumps as buy-to-let investors go on a mad dash to buy properties January 21, 2016 Demand for property in the UK hit a three-month high in December, as prospective buy-to-let investors rushed to beat the impending rise in stamp duty. Figures by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) showed the balance of new buyer inquiries rose to plus 16 in December, from plus seven in November. In November, chancellor [...]