Banking Standards Board chair Dame Colette Bowe signals a tougher stance on UK banks November 19, 2015 The Banking Standards Board (BSB), a City body tasked with restoring faith in the UK banking sector, gave its first indication that it will push for more banking regulation ahead of a major report due next year. BSB chairwoman Dame Colette Bowe, who took up the role in April, said in a speech at the Cass [...]
Wall Street up as Fed signals December interest rates hike – New York Report November 18, 2015 Indications from the Federal Reserve’s October policy meeting yesterday that there is solid core of officials backing a possible December rate hike pushed US stocks up by more than one per cent. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 247.66 points, or 1.42 per cent, to 17,737.16, the S&P 500 gained 33.14 points, or 1.62 per [...]
FOMC minutes: Federal Reserve hints US rate hike in December is looking likely November 18, 2015 Get ready for lift-off. Barring “unanticipated shocks” the Federal Reserve looks set to raise US interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade before the year is out, show the minutes from the central bank’s latest rate-setting meeting in October. Interest rates have been at a record low since 2006, but with US jobs [...]
Oil prices: US crude WTI falls below $40 for first time since August November 18, 2015 US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) plunged below $40 a barrel for the first time since August, as a global supply glut continues to weigh heavily on oil prices. WTI dipped to trade below the $40 a barrel mark in late-afternoon trading, before recouping somewhat to $40.15. This puts WTI at its lowest point since [...]
Private sector workers are optimistic about the next 12 months but public sector employees think they will be worse off November 18, 2015 Brits’ optimism on their finances has risen this month with a strong outlook for private sector workers lifting overall confidence while those in the public sector were more downbeat, according to new survey figures released today. Markit's index for financial wellbeing over the next 12 months increased this month, rising to a score of 50.4 from 49.1 and [...]
Flood Re secures £1.29bn in first phase of reinsurance tender process, putting it on track to accept first policy in April 2016 November 18, 2015 Flood Re, a reinsurance body aimed at limiting the cost of flood insurance for high-risk households, has secured £1.29bn in phase one of its reinsurance tender process, it was announced today. This figure means the project is on track to secure £2.1bn by early 2016, allowing it to accept its first policy in April 2016. “Flood [...]
Shares in Greek banks hit record lows as investors brace themselves for bank recapitalisation November 18, 2015 Shares in Greece’s biggest banks plummeted today with three of the big four hitting record lows as the country's parliament prepares to pass reforms that will unlock cash for their recapitalisation. Piraeus Bank’s share price is down 16.67 per cent and Alpha bank’s share price is down 4.69 per cent. The National Bank of Greece’s [...]
Pound jumps as Bank of England’s Ben Broadbent tells City analysts to take the yield curve with a grain of salt November 18, 2015 Investors, analysts and economists are at risk of making big mistakes if they rely on the interest rate on short-term government bonds as an accurate forecast for when Bank of England interest rates will rise, a Bank official has warned – despite the fact the Bank uses it in its own economic predictions. The warning comes after a major shift in [...]
Eurozone construction drops in September November 18, 2015 The Eurozone’s construction sector is still struggling to recover after nearly a decade of decline and stagnation. Construction output across the currency-bloc dropped 0.4 per cent in September compared with August, according to figures released this morning by European statistical office Eurostat. While it is up 1.8 per cent on September 2014’s output, it remains around 20 [...]
Average UK weekly earnings: Wages rise for the first time since 2008 as gender pay gap narrows – while the City of London remains the UK’s highest-paid local authority November 18, 2015 Average weekly earnings rose to £528 in April 2015, up 1.8 per cent from £518 in 2014 – or 1.9 per cent when adjusted for inflation, the first rise since 2008. The Office for National Statistics' annual hours and earnings survey showed the median salary for full-time employees rose 1.6 per cent to £27,600 in April. But where [...]