So much for the winter lull: UK house price growth jumps again in November January 19, 2016 UK house prices grew 7.7 per cent in the year to November, up from seven per cent the month before, as people rushed to buy homes before interest rates rise. The east of England led the charge, with price growth of 10.2 per cent, while prices in the south east and London rose 9.8 per [...]
IMF has cut its global growth outlook due to China, the US dollar and geopolitical tensions January 19, 2016 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cut its global growth forecast for this year by 0.2 percentage points to 3.4 per cent, citing risks relating to the emerging markets. It comes amid a medley of risks which includes a sharper-than-expected slowdown in China, the impact of a strong dollar on the US economy and geopolitical tensions in a [...]
UK is one of the top 10 countries for attracting skilled migrants – but lack of vocational training and gender pay gap is holding it back January 19, 2016 The United Kingdom has been ranked seventh in the world for attracting skilled migrants, ahead of Germany and France – but behind the United States. According to research due to be unveiled today at Davos by Adecco Group, Insead and the Human Capital Leadership Institute, Switzerland is most able to attract, develop and retain highly-skilled workers, while the UK maintains its [...]
Chinese growth falls to 25-year low – but markets shrug it off January 19, 2016 They say forewarned it forearmed, and Chinese markets seemed to agree last night, after they shrugged off potentially devastating growth figures. The country reported gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 6.9 per cent in 2015, the slowest pace of annual growth since 1990. But while the figure was disappointing, it was broadly in line with [...]
Why China’s devaluation of the yuan is good for the UK January 19, 2016 The UK knows only too well what it means to have an overvalued currency – sterling’s strength has dulled the competitiveness of the UK’s export-oriented manufacturing industry for decades. Even though the UK earns around 30 per cent of its GDP from exports, the continuously large trade deficit on goods means that overall trade is [...]
UK house prices: Though it’s currently the economic golden child, Milton Keynes needs to shake off its brand image to become hot property January 19, 2016 Despite being one of the most confusing and maligned cities in the UK, Milton Keynes is managing to outpace London in terms of economic growth, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR). With good transport links, a booming property market, and massive employers like Argos and Red Bull based there, on paper this makes sense. But, let’s [...]
The bear is back: Experts warn the FTSE 100 is on the brink as global market volatility continues January 19, 2016 Fears that the FTSE 100 could be dragged into bear market territory deepened yesterday as global equities were gripped by volatility in another day of torrid trading. The FTSE 100 has so far managed to fend off falling into the bear trap, trading around 19 per cent off its all time high of 7,103 in April [...]
Oil steadies after Iranian influx pushes the price to under $28 January 18, 2016 The oil price steadied in yesterday’s trading after the immediate reaction to Iranian production coming back onto the market sent it below $28 a barrel. International benchmark Brent crude fell to fresh lows not seen since September 2003, hitting $27.67 before climbing back about $28. Oil cartel group Opec warned in its latest monthly review [...]
Economists: Iran faces barriers to strong growth January 18, 2016 The lifting of sanctions against Iran has not erased pessimism over the future of its economic growth. Iran’s economic growth plummeted after sanctions relating to its nuclear programme were put in place. Yet some are warning the removal of restrictions may not mark a return to high levels of pre-sanctions growth for a sustained period. “Given [...]
Bank of Enland’s Gertjan Vlieghe: Pay and inflation are not high enough to justify interest rate hike January 18, 2016 The Bank of England’s newest rate-setter Gertjan Vlieghe has said today he is unlikely to vote for an interest rate rise unless pay growth and inflation pick up and growth remains robust. “In order to be confident enough of the medium-term inflation outlook to raise Bank Rate, I would like to see evidence that growth [...]