UK trade deficit narrows in September, beating expectations November 6, 2015 What with all the shmoozing David Cameron, George Osborne et al have been doing with various prospective trade partners in recent weeks, this should raise a smile on Downing Street: the UK's trade deficit narrowed by £1.6bn between August and September. Figures by the Office for National Statistics suggested the trade deficit on goods fell to [...]
UK industrial production edges up in second quarter – but manufacturing falls November 6, 2015 Shrugs all round as new figures showed the UK's industrial output edged up just 0.2 per cent between the second and third quarters – although the outlook was rather less encouraging for the manufacturing sector. Figures from the Office for National Statistics suggested the sector – which makes up the biggest component of industrial production – [...]
London house prices: Queues around the block as 215 flats at bargain basement prices at Trinity Square in Hounslow sell out in three hours, netting £60m of sales November 6, 2015 Yet another sign of the hysteria surrounding London's housing market: 215 flats at a residential development in Hounslow sold out in just three hours on Thursday night, as hundreds of people clamoured to get their hands on one of the homes. Developer Galliard said it made sales of £20m per hour between 5pm and 8pm [...]
FTSE 100 falls after interest rates are left on hold – London Report November 6, 2015 The Bank of England’s (BoE) decision to keep interest rates at record lows for the 80th month wasn’t able to prevent the FTSE closing down last night, finishing with a loss of 0.8 per cent at 6,364.9 points. The FTSE had been trading in negative territory throughout the morning ahead the BoE’s announcement but rallied [...]
Sterling falls off a cliff as Bank of England keeps interest rate hike at bay November 6, 2015 Mark Carney’s Bank of England pushed sterling off a cliff yesterday by suggesting that interest rates could stay anchored to their historic low until 2017. Having said earlier in the year that a rate hike could come towards the end of 2015 or start of 2016, the Bank’s governor appears to be diverging from the position [...]
Number of permanent staff hired shot up sharply during October, finds REC and KPMG November 6, 2015 Four out of ten recruiters (41 per cent) placed more people in permanent positions this October than they did a month ago, according to a report released today by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and professional services firm KPMG . The latest Report on Jobs, which the two organisations publish monthly, found that the [...]
Older homeowners’ wealth set to double to £2.5 trillion by 2035 November 6, 2015 The total property wealth of over-55s in England is expected to double to almost £2.5 trillion by 2035, new research shows, as the baby boomer generation benefit from house price rises and a longer life expectancy. Older homeowners are currently sitting on £1.2 trillion worth of wealth, According to Age Partnership. The financial planning specialist [...]
First-time buyers need £50k per year to get on the property ladder – GoCompare November 5, 2015 The average UK salary of £22,000 is less than half the average needed to get on the property ladder, research from comparison website GoCompare has found. On average a minimum household income of £50,000 is required, with a 90 per cent mortgage. Unsurprisingly, London was found to be the most unaffordable, with household incomes of [...]
One chart showing why it doesn’t really matter how many members of the monetary policy committee voted for an interest rate rise November 5, 2015 Given it's been held at 0.5 per cent since what feels like the dawn of time, there isn't an awful lot to say about UK interest rates these days – so when monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting time comes around, analysts tend to busy themselves looking at details. Thus, the fact Ian McCafferty was again alone in voting in favour [...]
Bank of England: No UK interest rate rise under present conditions until 2017 November 5, 2015 If global market conditions remain as they are we are unlikely to see an interest rate rise in the UK until spring 2017, according to the latest inflation report from the Bank of England (BoE). The pound fell sharply on the news, and at pixel time was trading at 1.526 against the dollar. The BoE said since the [...]