The European Central Bank is losing credibility, according to one of its board members April 4, 2016 Low inflation and defunct monetary policy risk threatening the European Central Bank’s (ECB) reputation as an effective organisation, according to one of its top economists, Peter Praet, who sits on the ECB’s executive board alongside its president, Mario Draghi. Praet warned that if the ECB fails in its efforts to save Europe from a period [...]
Double-digit unemployment leaves Eurozone residents twice as likely to be out of work compared to those living in Britain April 4, 2016 The unemployment rate across the Eurozone edged down to 10.3 per cent in February 2016, its lowest rate since August 2011, according to official figures out this morning, though economists warned the pace of job creation could be slowing down. The share of people out of work in the single currency bloc has fallen to [...]
UK’s finance chiefs rally behind the vote to keep Britain in the EU, as uncertainty curbs appetite for risk April 4, 2016 The majority of the UK's finance chiefs are so nervous of a vote for a Brexit this summer that it's stopping them from taking on other risks, a report out today has found. According to the survey by Deloitte of over 100 finance chiefs, three out of four (75 per cent) are now in favour of [...]
Iranian minister rebuffs Saudi oil demands, throwing a spanner in the Opec and Russia production freeze talks April 3, 2016 Plans for a deal to clear the global oil supply glut with a production freeze have hit a hurdle after the Iranian oil minister refused demands from Saudi Arabia to throttle its production. Iran’s Bijan Zanganeh told the country’s Mehr News Agency today Iran still intends to increase its output to four million barrels a day, [...]
Markit PMI: British manufacturing edges up but quarterly growth remains weak April 1, 2016 While British manufacturing ticked up last month from its weakest level in nearly three years, quarterly growth remained disappointing. It comes as the business secretary, Sajid Javid, visits Port Talbot to meet workers and management affected by Tata's decision to sell its UK assets. Read more: The travel industry must love Sajid Javid The Markit/CIPS manufacturing Purchasing Managers' [...]
Oil pares back gains as it records strongest March rally since 2007 March 31, 2016 The oil price was traded flat yesterday, though still managed to record its strongest March rally in almost a decade. International benchmark Brent crude climbed back above $40 per barrel and was going for $40.11 in evening trading. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate gained around half a dollar throughout the day, settling around $38.25. The euro [...]
Should the UK worry about its record current account deficit? March 31, 2016 The UK's current account deficit has reached its highest level since comparable records began in 1955. It rose to £32.7bn in the final three months of 2015, equal to seven per cent of GDP. A big current account deficit can often be a precursor to an economic crisis, so should the UK worry about it? A sign [...]
The mortgage market is helping to fuel a new credit boom March 31, 2016 Lending in the UK is recovering strongly. The annual growth rate of total lending hit 4.8 per cent in February, according to figures released by the Bank of England this morning. It is the highest growth rate since 2009 when lending was plummeting. Here's what is helping to drive it: Mortgage lending Borrowing is bouncing back in [...]
Is China reforming fast enough? Standard and Poor’s doesn’t think so March 31, 2016 China has been told to get a move on with economic reforms if it wants to maintain its top-notch credit rating today, after Standard & Poor’s (S&P) warned that its economic rebalancing is taking too long. The ratings agency said it was downgrading its outlook for China’s sovereign debt from “stable” to “negative”, firing a [...]
Cautious UK companies begin belt-tightening as business investment stutters in the face of oil price crash and fears of Brexit March 31, 2016 British firms may be battening down the hatches and trimming back on business investment in the face of global turmoil and the Brexit referendum, according to statistics released this morning. Official figures showed that the amount invested by firms into new assets like buildings, machines, equipment, and intellectual property, slipped by two per cent in [...]