UK house prices: Number of tenants in serious rent arrears rising January 8, 2016 The number of tenants falling seriously behind on rent went up by 13.8 per cent between the three months to June and the three months to September, according to figures released this morning. There were 84,200 tenants more than two months behind on their payments between July and September – the most for two years, the [...]
Danish central bank raises interest rate (but it’s still negative) January 7, 2016 The Danish central bank has raised one of its key interest rates – but it's still in the negative. The bank said today it was hiking its deposit rate to minus 0.65 per cent, up from minus 0.75 per cent. It's not exactly earth-shaking – but it is one of the first European central banks to [...]
China Securities Regulatory Commission scraps stock circuit breaker rule as FTSE 100 and global markets tumble January 7, 2016 We learned yesterday morning that Chinese market circuit-breakers are like buses: you wait ages for one and then two come along at once. But clearly two of the country's largest stock exchanges have had enough: China Securities Regulatory Commission stock exchanges issued a statement saying it is scrapping the circuit-breaker, which has halted trading on the country's stock markets twice [...]
Brent crude oil price slides below $33 after PBOC depreciates renminbi January 7, 2016 Brent oil crashed to an almost-12-year-low today, after a Chinese stock market sell-off caused trading to be suspended for the second time this week. Brent crude, the global benchmark, was down five per cent at $32.16 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, the US benchmark, slumped 3.53 per cent at $32.77. Earlier today, the People's [...]
Eurozone economic confidence at its highest since 2011 as unemployment edges down January 7, 2016 Consumers and businesses in the Eurozone are feeling more confident on the economy, according to figures released this morning. The European Commission's economic sentiment indicator climbed 0.7 points to a score 0f 106.8 in December – the highest since 2011. Its average since 1990 is 100. Consumer confidence is being helped by a falling unemployment rate, which [...]
Sterling drops to five-year low against the dollar January 7, 2016 The pound hit a five-and-a-half-year low against the dollar today, as markets tumbled in the wake of turbulent trading in China. The pound was buying $1.4568 in mid-morning trading, after falling 0.42 per cent. It was also 8.2 per cent below its 2015 peak of 1.5883. Sterling was also down 1.16 per cent against the euro and [...]
Warnings over global instability gather pace as George Soros compares climate to 2008 January 7, 2016 Warnings over global stability gathering are pace, with legendary fund manager George Soros comparing the climate to that of the financial crisis in 2008. Speaking in Sri Lanka, Soros warned China is struggling to move away from export-led growth towards a more sustainable, domestic consumption-led economic model. The billionaire investor said the People's Bank of China's [...]
Halifax house price index: UK house prices rose 9.5 per cent last year. Yawn January 7, 2016 Another day, another confirmation that homes in the UK are increasingly unaffordable. House prices have risen 9.5 per cent in the year to December, according to figures from Halifax, which showed the average house price is now a £208,286. Ouch. Still: the UK's house prices are nothing if not dependable. The figure meant annual price growth stuck between [...]
How low can yuan go? Trading on the CSI 300, Shenzhen Composite and Shanghai Composite suspended after People’s Bank of China’s devalues renminbi January 7, 2016 Trading on China's stock markets has been suspended for the second time this week, after China accelerated the depreciation of the renminbi, a move which rippled through regional currencies and domestic stock markets. The so-called circuit-breaker was triggered after just 870 seconds (that's just under 15 minutes) of trading, helping China's stock market clock the shortest trading [...]
Chancellor George Osborne warns on dangerous threats to UK economy January 7, 2016 Britain's financial wellbeing could come under threat from global economic shocks, chancellor George Osborne will say today. “Last year was the worst for global growth since the crash and this year opens with a dangerous cocktail of new threats,” he will tell business leaders in Cardiff. Slowdowns in Brazil, Russia and China pose a major [...]