Greek debt crisis: Final decision to unlock more cash due on Monday when the European Stability Mechanism board meets November 21, 2015 Remember the Greek debt crisis? While the country's cash flow problems made headlines earlier this year, things have simmered down since then. Now Greece is awaiting a final decision, likely to come on Monday, paving the way for the disbursement of the next tranche of loans, as Eurozone finance ministers neared an agreement yesterday. To receive the money, [...]
UK home building nearly half the value of all construction contracts in October November 20, 2015 Housing construction comprised nearly half the value of all UK building contracts in October, totalling £3.7bn, according to the latest Economic & Construct ion Market Review from industry analysts Barbour ABI. Overall for October, the value of residential projects is the highest since Barbour ABI started tracking the series. This has been helped by a [...]
UK government borrowing for October worst in six years ahead of Autumn Statement November 20, 2015 UK government borrowing figures for October were the worst in six years, providing a potential hindrance to the government's plans to whittle down the deficit. The Office for National Statistics today said public sector net borrowing, excluding banks, rose to £8.2bn in October from £7.1bn a year earlier. This significantly overshot economists' expectations for it to fall [...]
Fill up like it’s 2009: Petrol could dip under £1 a litre, says RAC November 20, 2015 Prices at the pump could soon be back at 2009 levels, with the RAC predicting petrol is on course to drop under £1 a litre. Speaking on the BBC's Today show this morning, RAC chief engineer David Bizley suggested that a "lag" in the system would mean that recent drops in the wholesale fuel price [...]
South east and London: These regions feel most confident about house price growth according to Knight Frank and Markit Economics November 20, 2015 Homeowners in the south east and London think they're sitting on the property equivalent of a gold mine. The Knight Frank and Markit Economics house price sentiment index (HPSI) showed that those in the south east expect the biggest rise in their value of their homes over the next year, followed by Londoners. In fact, expectations for house price [...]
Euro falls as European Central Bank boss Mario Draghi hints at rate cut and changes to QE…again November 20, 2015 Dovish coos from European Central Bank boss Mario Draghi has sent the euro low against the dollar…again. Speaking at the European Banking Congress in Frankfurt today, he said: "We consider the asset purchase programme to be a powerful and flexible instrument, as it can be adjusted in terms of size, composition or duration to achieve a [...]
Rent for a two-bed house in London is set to reach £2,000-a-month by 2020 warns Labour’s London Assembly spokesman Tom Copley November 20, 2015 Let the renter despair, average rents in London are set to reach £2,000 a month by 2020. If rents continue at their current trajectory, a two-bed house in the capital will cost £2,007 a month in five-years’ time, Labour’s London Assembly housing spokesman Tom Copley warned. A one-bed property would cost a staggering £2,010 a [...]
July Budget 2015 measures have boosted people’s incentive to work, despite proposals to cut in-work tax credits – Institute for Fiscal Studies November 19, 2015 Measures announced in the July Budget strengthened the incentive to work, despite the proposed in-work tax credits cuts, according to a study released today by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). The report found that the complete package of changes, which included raising the personal allowance for income tax and introducing the National Living Wage, has [...]
Saudi Arabia’s oil minister Ali al-Naimi calls for more investment in the oil industry November 19, 2015 Saudi Arabia's oil minister, Ali al-Naimi, has warned investment in the oil industry must keep pace with forecasts for future demand to ensure the stability of the market. Speaking at an energy conference in the Bahraini capital Manama, Naimi said: "Demand for oil is continuing to rise". "To meet this growing need, there should be a continuation [...]
What’s going to happen to the economy in 2016? From persistently low oil prices to improved global growth, here are Goldman Sachs’ top 10 market themes November 19, 2015 Economists at Goldman Sachs have just released what they believe will be the 10 biggest economic themes of 2016. Here they are: 1. Global growth, more stable than it looks. The Goldman economists believe global growth is bottoming out this year at 3.2 per cent and expect it to accelerate to 3.6 per cent next year. [...]