Mark Carney warned over gilt market instability risks November 15, 2015 A decline in bond market liquidity could threaten financial stability, the chairman of the Treasury select committee has warned. Treasury chairman Andrew Tyrie has written to Bank of England governor Mark Carney, laying out his concerns and asking for the Financial Policy Committee's view on the risk of declining liquidity in the bond market. Tyrie highlighted particular [...]
Attention turns to final borrowing figures ahead of 2015 Autumn Statement and Comprehensive Spending Review November 15, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne could come under added pressure this Friday when the last state borrowing figures before next week’s Autumn Statement and Comprehensive Spending Review are published. Consultancy Capital Economics expects borrowing for October to come in at £6.5bn. While it would be substantially below last year’s October deficit of £9.4bn, it still puts the Treasury [...]
Oil prices: IEA suggests global oil stockpile has hit record high as demand soars to five-year high November 13, 2015 The world’s oil inventory has soared to new record levels, according to the latest report from leading energy forecaster International Energy Agency (IEA), which shows stockpiles reaching an unprecedented 3bn barrels. The record high comes as plunging oil prices have sent demand soaring to a five-year high, the forecaster writes in its monthly report: Stockpiles [...]
Disappointing third quarter for UK construction sector November 13, 2015 Construction output in the UK fell 2.2 per cent in the three months to the end of October, compared with the quarter before, figures by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed today. That figure is exactly what the ONS estimated as part of the UK's pretty disappointing third-quarter GDP figure – but remains very [...]
France GDP: French economy returns to modest growth fuelled by accelerating domestic demand November 13, 2015 The French economy returned to modest growth, as fresh data showed the country’s GDP growing by 0.3 per cent in the third quarter, boosted by accelerating domestic demand. Growth has been fluctuating over the year, to say the least. After surprising economists by ballooning out by 0.7 per cent in the first three months of [...]
German growth slows as GDP edges up 0.3 per cent in third quarter November 13, 2015 The German economy grew just 0.3 per cent in the third quarter, an estimate published today showed – down from 0.4 per cent in the previous quarter. Although the figure met economists' expectations, it was nonetheless disappointing for those hoping for a stronger performance. Destatis, Germany's official statistics body, said that while final consumption expenditure [...]
London landlord bars the 800 campaigners that got his Duke of Hamilton pub in Hampstead listed November 12, 2015 A London landlord has barred 800 local campaigners from his pub after they managed to get his property listed, making it harder for him to sell. Steve Coxshall, a former stockbroker that also managed the boyband Blue, said the campaigners, the Hampstead Neighbourhood Forum, were “hypocrites in cardigans”. Camden Council decided to the list the three-century-old [...]
Lack of building to blame for high house prices, says Bank of England’s Andy Haldane November 12, 2015 The UK housing market is “broken” the Bank of England’s chief economist said today, arguing that not enough homes were being built, in an unusually stark critique of government policy. Andy Haldane told an audience at the Trades Union Congress that Britain needed to build around 200,000 homes a year and its failure to do [...]
US budget deficit shoots up in October November 12, 2015 The US federal government budget deficit hit $137bn (£90bn) in October, a 12 per cent increase on the same month last year, the Treasury Department said today. Total receipts edged down one per cent to $211bn while spending was up four per cent on the year to $348bn. The timings of certain payments were to [...]
Federal Reserve’s William Dudley leaning toward interest rate hike as Charles Evans stays dovish November 12, 2015 A series of speeches from US rate-setters has put the US marginally closer toward an interest rate hike. Federal Reserve official Charles Evans said the central bank is close to reaching its employment goal, but he is concerned inflation may fail to reach its two per cent target. "I am far less confident about reaching [...]