UK infrastructure is lagging behind on global value rankings October 19, 2015 The UK is falling behind in global rankings on its infrastructure, according to research published today. The value of Britain’s built environment – its buildings and infrastructure – is currently £3.1 trillion, the research from Arcadis, a consultancy, and the Centre for Economics and Business Research said. The UK ranks 13th against a host of other [...]
Eurozone geared up for lending recovery as Draghi weighs up further stimulus October 19, 2015 Financial conditions in the Eurozone are in line for a buoyant 2016 with economists at a major consultancy forecasting a long-awaited revival in credit growth. Meanwhile, the currency-bloc’s policy makers could be tempted into expanding their €1.1 trillion (£810bn) money-printing programme as early as this Thursday after dropping numerous hints over recent weeks. Private sector borrowing [...]
Shoppers unfazed by market headwinds as confidence rises – Deloitte October 19, 2015 Optimism in the economy reached a four-year high in the third quarter, according to the latest consumer tracker from accountancy giant Deloitte. Consumer confidence rose by two percentage points to -7 per cent, from -5 per cent in the second quarter. Consumers were apparently unperturbed by the recent volatility global financial markets that saw the FTSE [...]
Deutsche Bank’s investment arm is split in two as new boss John Cryan tries to reinvigorate the firm October 18, 2015 Germany's biggest lender Deutsche Bank is overhauling its management and investment bank structure as new boss John Cryan tries to reinvigorate the company’s performance following a number of fines and shareholder dissatisfaction. Long-term management board member Stefan Krause is leaving his post along with Colin Fan, co-head of the firm's investment banking and trading unit. Asset [...]
UK Steelmaker Tata Steel expected to axe 1,200 jobs October 17, 2015 Britain's biggest steelmaker, Tata Steel, is expected to cut around 1,200 jobs in what will be a huge blow to the industry, a union source told City A.M. Reports suggest the bulk of the cuts will be at Tata Steel's Scunthorpe site, which employs 4,000 people. However, the axe could also fall at sites in Clydebridge, Cambuslang, Dalzell and Motherwell. The news broke as [...]
HSBC chief executive Stuart Gulliver says China’s economy is unlikely to suffer a “hard landing” despite slowdown fears October 16, 2015 HSBC chief executive Stuart Gulliver has said China is unlikely to have a "hard landing", despite mounting concern over the strength of its economy. "The fears for China's economy are overplayed. I do not believe China will have a hard landing," Gulliver said in a speech today. "The last few months have obviously been difficult… (But) the [...]
S&P: Impact of Bank of England and Prudential Regulation Authority’s ring-fencing on UK banks’ credit rating “limited” October 16, 2015 Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) has said today that ring-fencing regulations will have a "limited" effect on one of the factors used to determine a big bank's credit rating. Yesterday, the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority outlined proposals for how big banks should separate their retail banks from their riskier investment arms. It's designed to help [...]
Here’s how much alcohol abuse and hungover employees cost the economy October 16, 2015 Inebriated employees who opt to stay out on a school night can cost an economy billions. The US economy lost about $249bn (£160bn) in 2010 due to the effects of excessive alcohol consumption, with binge drinking accounting for $191.1bn, or 76.7 per cent, of this. This was due to lost productivity, healthcare and other factors such as crime. But the effect of a [...]
Map: UK house prices are still below 2007 peak in Wales, the North and southern Scotland – but have soared past them in London, Bristol, York and Manchester October 16, 2015 London’s house prices may have surged well beyond the prices of the last property boom, but that’s hardly true of the whole country. Looking at average house prices today against what they were eight years ago shows prices are still below their 2007 peak in about half the country. The map of England, Scotland and [...]
Ministers, companies and unions descend on Rotherham for UK steel crisis summit October 16, 2015 Ministers, representatives of producers and unions have descended on Rotherham for a crisis meeting over the UK's remaining steel industry. The summit comes a day after the final closure of the SSI steelworks in Redcar, announced last month, which caused the loss of 1,700 jobs. The government said today's summit will address the "challenging conditions" facing the market, after [...]