UK construction PMI: Housebuilding increases at its fastest pace in a year October 2, 2015 Housing crisis? What housing crisis? Demand may be vastly outweighing supply in the UK's housing market at the moment – but the signs are looking increasingly encouraging, after new figures showed the UK's construction sector had one of its best months of the year in September, with growth hitting a seven-month high and – housebuilding [...]
Financial watchdog tells banks to sort out current accounts as complaints soar October 1, 2015 The financial watchdog has called on banks to take action as the number of people complaining about their current accounts to banks soared 31.2 per cent over the past six months. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) released figures showing there has also been an 11.1 per cent increase in the number of customers complaining about [...]
Brent crude oil slides after rally despite hurricane upgrade October 1, 2015 It's been a rollercoaster ride of a day for oil investors, who earlier watched prices rise after a report suggested demand is likely to be higher than expected – before prices dipped again, after it was a tropical storm due to make landfall in the US next week will be less intense than expected. Brent [...]
Productivity gap closing? UK’s output reaches record high – but it’s still considerably down on where we should be October 1, 2015 Is the productivity gap closing? Figures out this morning show that labour productivity in the UK – as measured by output per hour – grew 0.9 per cent between the first and second quarter this year. That has taken it to the highest level ever recorded by the Office for National Statistics – [...]
UK workers get a pay rise as minimum wage raised to £6.70 ahead of National Living Wage introduction October 1, 2015 One million UK workers are getting a pay rise today, as the national minimum wage has gone up by 20p. This sets the new adult rate at £6.70 per hour. Youth rates are up too, as 18 to 20-year-olds will get £5.30 and under-18s get £3.87. Another pay rise is on the way for at [...]
Sainsbury’s and Glencore give FTSE 100 a three-digit lift – London Report October 1, 2015 The FTSE 100 enjoyed strong gains yesterday, helped by Sainsbury’s after the supermarket group lifted its full-year profit outlook. The blue-chip index climbed 152.37 points, or 2.6 per cent, to close at 6,061.61. Despite reporting a seventh straight quarter of falling sales, Sainsbury’s shares soared 13.8 per cent. Other supermarkets were also lifted, with Morrisons [...]
Best of the Brokers for 1 October 2015 October 1, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com HSBC HOLDINGS UBS upgraded the bank from “neutral” to “buy”, and lowered the target price from 595p to 550p, reflecting earnings downgrades. The broker said it believes the relative risk/reward balance on the shares has shifted to the upside. It added: “While [...]
British business groups signal support European Commission’s “action plan” for capital markets union October 1, 2015 British business groups have largely welcomed a new report from Brussels this week on plans to put together a capital markets union (CMU) by 2019. The European Commission’s “action plan” aims to make it easier for markets across the EU to raise funds from within the Single Market. Sir Jonathan Hill, the European [...]
Here’s what drove British household spending in the second quarter of 2015 September 30, 2015 While Brits went mad for games, toys and hobbies in the second quarter, they were less keen on wine, beer and other tipples. Household spending in volume terms, when adjusted for inflation, increased 0.8 per cent to £2.3bn during this period, according to official data released today. People splurged on the "recreation and culture" sector [...]
Economic well-being: Four charts that show how the UK’s growth compares to its European neighbours September 30, 2015 The UK economy has been growing at a healthier pace than Germany or France over the past year – but its growth can’t match the boom in recovering Spain. New GDP figures released today showed the British economy grew by 0.7 per cent in the latest quarter. But how are we doing in other metrics? [...]