US multinationals are keeping $2.1 trillion in tax havens, says new report October 6, 2015 US multinational companies are holding over $2.1 trillion (£1.4 trillion) in accumulated profits in tax havens, two left-wing think tanks said today. The report, by the Citizens for Tax Justice and US Public Interest Research Group Education Fund, accuses the companies of ripping off the US Treasury and operating in a way that puts them at an [...]
Bank of England September minutes and interest rate decision: Five things to look for October 6, 2015 The Bank of England's (BoE) last minutes and quarterly inflation report struck a decidedly dovish tone. However a lot has happened since then. Consequently investors will be eager to see if recent developments have pushed back expectations for an interest rate rise over at the Old Lady. Will the hawk still squark? With the BoE [...]
Greek debt crisis: The economy won’t start growing until 2017 October 5, 2015 The Greek government unveiled a dismal 2016 budget today. The The draft budget forecasts that the country's economy will shrink by 2.3 per cent this year, staying in recession in 2016 with a 1.3 per cent contraction, before returning to growth in 2017. It was released as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras delivered his keynote four-year policy programme to [...]
Oil price rises after Russia says it’s mulling talks with Opec October 5, 2015 Brent crude posted its biggest intra-day gain in more than two weeks today amid comments from Russia over potential talks with Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and non-Opec members. Russia's energy minister, Alexander Novak, said that the country was ready to take part in such a meeting to discuss the state of global markets. Russia [...]
US ISM non-manufacturing cools off after hot summer October 5, 2015 A closely watched indicator of the health of the US economy has fallen back to moderate levels after rocketing over summer, but the figures also show robust strengthening in the jobs market. The Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for non-manufacturing sectors dropped to a score of 56 for figures released this [...]
The UK is the e-commerce capital of the EU with four in five Britons shopping online in past year October 5, 2015 UK consumers are more likely to do their shopping online than any other EU country. Four in five Britons made a purchase online last year, new e-commerce figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have shown. This puts us top among all EU countries, well above the average of 50 per cent. We share [...]
Chinese diets set to beef up demand for agricultural commodities October 5, 2015 Investors rocked by collapsing commodity prices should consider ditching copper and oil and park their cash in softer resources such as wheat and corn instead, a new report has suggested. Amid a backdrop of rising prosperity Chinese consumers are demanding more top nosh, with meat and grains such as wheat high on the menu wishlist. [...]
Bank of England monetary policy committee July minutes to show last unanimity ahead of split in August October 5, 2015 The minutes from the Bank of England rate setting committee's July meeting, due to be released tomorrow, could show the last unanimous vote to hold interest rates at a record low, ahead of a split forecast for next month. Economists think the minutes, from the monetary policy committee's meeting which took place on the 8-9 [...]
Eurozone economy posts sluggish expansion in September as concerns grow over Spain October 5, 2015 The Eurozone economy managed to keep up its lacklustre economic recovery in September, new survey figures show this morning. Markit’s economy-wide purchasing managers’ index (PMI) – derived from surveys of businesses – slipped to a score of of 53.6 in September from 53.4 in August. Despite the dip, the PMI is above the 50 level which [...]
Asian markets boosted by poor US jobs data October 5, 2015 Asian shares were boosted this morning by poor jobs data released by the US. US non-farm pay rolls rose by 142,000 in September, which was a long way off hitting the 203,000 figure markets had expected. Read more: Non-farm payroll: Weak US jobs growth pushes back rate hike expectations Asian markets benefited [...]