Fitch slashes global growth forecast on weaker emerging market outlook March 7, 2016 The world economy will be weighed down by further turmoil in key emerging markets this year, a major ratings agency said today. Fitch has slashed its global economic growth forecast with advanced economies expected to grow 1.7 per cent this year, down from the 2.1 per cent forecast in December. Emerging market economies are expected to [...]
German factory orders drop in January despite bump in demand from rest of the Eurozone March 7, 2016 German factory's received fewer orders in January compared with the month before, according to figures released this morning. New orders dropped 0.1 per cent with a 1.6 per cent drop in domestic orders offsetting a one per cent climb in foreign orders, German statistical office Destatis said. Orders from other Eurozone countries jumped 7.5 per cent [...]
Sunday trading hours: Why the campaign against changes to the law by industry groups and Tory MPs is utterly bonkers March 7, 2016 I am confused, bemused and somewhat irritated by the constant threats from MPs, trading bodies and groups around the country to derail the government’s plans to relax the Sunday trading laws. Creating barriers to trade is out-dated and puts the UK at risk. More than 20 Tory Ministers and MPs have threatened to block the plans before [...]
China’s foreign exchange reserves are falling at a slower pace March 7, 2016 The stash of US dollars used by China to shore up the value of its currency, the yuan, declined at a slower rate in February. China had $3.202 trillion of foreign exchange reserves last month, according to figures released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange this morning. It is down by $29bn (£20.5bn) on January. [...]
Anatomy of a sector: UK finance and professional services support 2.2m jobs, contributing 11 per cent of tax receipts and generating a £72bn trade surplus March 7, 2016 You already knew it, but here's definitive proof: supporting 2.2m jobs and contributing 11 per cent of tax receipts, finance and professional services is one of the most important sectors in the UK, according to new research. A major report by City lobby group TheCityUK shows not only that the sector is a leading employer, accounting for almost [...]
Tax advice can cost businesses £1000 an hour due to the UK’s overly complex system March 7, 2016 Top UK tax advisers are charging up to £1,000 an hour due to Britain’s overly complicated tax system. Research published today by the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) said the UK had one of the most complicated tax systems in the world. UK tax advisory services are now one of the most expensive in the [...]
Don’t get your hopes up – weak productivity will weigh on pay packets, according to BDO March 7, 2016 Low productivity growth in the UK is throttling wage growth, a financial services firm has warned. UK economic growth improved in February while hiring also picked up, according to new figures released this morning. The employment index published by accountants BDO hit of a score of 105.1 in February from 104.9, moving further above its long-term average [...]
Oil eyes yearly price highs despite US stockpiles rising, and denials Opec will cut production March 6, 2016 The price of oil is set to record fresh highs for 2016 this week, despite comments from the Saudi Arabian oil minister that the de facto Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) leader will not cut its production and stubbornly high reserves of oil in the US. Saudi Arabia will maintain its oil market [...]
Economists at the Bank for International Settlements warn negative interest rates come with risks March 6, 2016 The experimental policy of negative interest rates has come under fire from a top financial watchdog. Economists at the Swiss-based Bank for International Settlements (BIS), often referred to as the central bank of central banks, said: “There is great uncertainty about the behaviour of individuals and institutions if rates were to decline further into negative territory [...]
Chinese economy: China will “absolutely not experience a hard landing” says chief economic planner Xu Shaoshi March 6, 2016 Despite lingering concerns of a slowdown in the Chinese economy, China’s chief economic planner has said it will "absolutely not experience a hard landing". Growth forecasts for the Chinese economy have been cut, but any predictions of a hard landing are "destined to become nothing", Xu Shaoshi, head of China’s state planning agency, has said. [...]