Star Wars economics: How destroying the Death Star created a financial crisis across the Galactic Empire after Return of the Jedi December 3, 2015 Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and the rest of the Rebel Alliance may have triumphed in defeating the Galactic Empire's overlord Lord Palpatine, but with freedom would have come financial collapse. As government infrastructure projects go, Death Stars are rather pricey. The cost of building two – both destroyed within four years by the end of Return of the Jedi – stands [...]
US ISM non-manufacturing: Business survey shows economy slowing December 3, 2015 The US economy excluding manufacturing lost some momentum in November, according to a survey of firms released today. The Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) purchasing managers' index dropped to a score of 55.9 for last month from 59.1 in October. It is the lowest score since May. Scores above 50 indicate an improvement in business conditions compared [...]
“An exquisitely wrapped lump of coal”: Here’s how economists are reacting to Mario Draghi and the European Central Bank’s decision to introduce further monetary easing December 3, 2015 European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi may have given markets a bit of what they wanted, but in the event it was more of a nerf gun than a bazooka. At a press conference today Draghi said the Bank will extend up its asset purchase programme into 2017, as well as cutting its deposit rate to minus [...]
European Central Bank extends asset purchases to March 2017 and cuts interest rates to new record lows December 3, 2015 The European Central Bank (ECB) has ramped up its asset purchase programme to the tune of €360bn (£257bn), its president Mario Draghi announced today. The programme will now run until the end of March 2017 instead of September 2016 as initially planned, but will stay at a rate of €60bn. It will take the value [...]
European markets under pressure following ECB decision to cut deposit rate by less than expected December 3, 2015 European markets have not reacted with confidence following a more-dovish-than-expected decision by the European Central Bank to cut its deposit rate to just minus 0.3 per cent. The FTSE 100 was trading 1.07 per cent down at 6,352 points in early afternoon trading, while the German Dax was 2.6 per cent lower at 10,891 points. The French CAC 40 was down [...]
Individuals are shouldering more of the tax burden as companies find ways to pay less, warns OECD December 3, 2015 Since the global economic crisis corporate tax revenues have been falling, pilling greater pressure on individual taxpayers to shoulder the burden so that governments can meet financing requirements, according to the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Individual workers and consumers are now taking on the burden of more tax, as across OECD countries average revenues from [...]
Markit PMI: Eurozone economy picks up momentum in November led by Ireland and Spain December 3, 2015 The Eurozone economy hobbled along at a moderate rate of growth in November, according to figures released this morning. Markit's purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the Eurozone edged up to a four-month high of 54.2 in November, from October's 53.9. It was also slightly less than an earlier estimate of 54.4 published last week. Scores above [...]
Markit’s service sector survey eases concerns over economic growth December 3, 2015 The UK's service sector grew at a faster rate in November, easing concerns that the economy was slowing after weak figures for construction and manufacturing. Markit's service sector purchasing managers' index – a survey of firms – scored 55.9 for November from 54.9 in October. It is a four-month high and is further above the [...]
Euro rises as European Central Bank boss Mario Draghi is expected to ramp up monetary stimulus programme at the December meeting December 3, 2015 This morning investors are gearing up for a widely anticipated early Christmas present from the European Central Bank (ECB), due later today. The ECB is expected to ramp up its monetary stimulus programme for the embattled Eurozone economy, against a backdrop of persistently low inflation and disappointing lending by banks. There are a number of ways the Bank could [...]
Christmas comes early for drivers: Diesel drops to its lowest price in six years in November, as petrol continues to fall December 3, 2015 If you're planning on driving long distances this Christmas, at least it'll be cheaper this year, after data suggested diesel fell to its lowest price since February 2009 in November. The RAC said this morning that the average pump price for diesel fell to 109.48p per litre at the end of November, down from 109.77p [...]