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 [...]
Bank of England set to keep interest rates at 0.5 per cent – again – this week April 10, 2016 The Bank of England will keep interest rates on hold for the 85th month in a row when it meets on Thursday, economists and analysts have predicted. Interest rates, which are set by the nine-strong Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), made up of governor Mark Carney, a number of senior Bank officials and some external figures, [...]
Bank of England insider appointed new chief executive of the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) April 8, 2016 Sam Woods has been appointed the new chief executive of the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), the Bank of England announced this afternoon. Woods, who is currently executive director for the Bank's insurance division, will take over from the outgoing Andrew Bailey on 1 July 2016, and will have ultimate responsibility for supervising banks, building societies, insurers and investment [...]
Niesr: GDP growth set to shrivel this year as a smaller manufacturing sector weighs on UK economy April 8, 2016 Britain’s economy is growing at its slowest pace since 2012, according to the latest estimates of GDP from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr). Niesr estimated that the UK economy grew by just 0.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2016 – a marked slowdown from the 0.6 per cent growth clocked [...]
PwC tells emerging economies to get their act together on banking reforms April 8, 2016 Some of the world’s largest economies would be dangerously exposed in the event of a fresh banking crisis, PwC has warned, as it calls for emerging economies to push forward on reforming their financial sectors. With commodity prices volatile and GDP growth slowing, PwC has raised fears that the developing world has not made sufficient progress on [...]
UK’s stubborn trade deficit shrinks slightly, poor exports despite a weaker pound suggest it isn’t going away soon April 8, 2016 Britain's trade deficit narrowed by a miniscule amount in February 2016, nowhere near enough to allay concerns about a failure to rebalance the economy and increase sales of British products around the world. The deficit – the difference between imports and exports – came in at £4.8bn in February, shrinking slightly from an eye-watering £5.2bn in January. Exports [...]
Why the UK’s record current account raises Brexit tail risk April 8, 2016 The UK is a serial debtor. In every quarter since 1998, its current account balance has been negative. In the last few years this deficit has grown rapidly. Currently, it is the largest in the G7. While modest deficits can be sustained even in the long-run providing gross domestic product growth is strong and stable, very [...]
Oil price sinks as Keystone shutdown fails to prevent US stockpile build at key Cushing hub April 7, 2016 The price of a barrel of oil has slid by around two per cent today after the shutdown of the Keystone pipeline last week failed to hold back the rising tide of oil. Inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery hub added 255,804 barrels according to market intelligence firm Genscape. Brent crude was trading at $38.81 at the [...]
Why is Britain becoming less productive? Economists blame everyone from government to investors to statisticians April 7, 2016 The UK’s productivity has been trundling along at a less than spectacular pace for a number of years. This morning, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed it actually fell 1.2 per cent in the final quarter of 2015, raising concerns about the general state of the UK economy. But what is productivity, why [...]
US economy is about to be “swept away by a tidal wave of corporate default”, roars Societe Generale uber bear April 7, 2016 A Societe Generale analyst has predicted the US economy is about to be “swept away by a tidal wave of corporate default”. Albert Edwards has not shied away from bearish comments in the past and has been dubbed an "uber bear". In February 2014, amid turmoil in emerging markets, he described the unravelling as "the final tweet of [...]