The decline of UK manufacturing: Companies say Britain is losing out to global rivals August 23, 2015 British manufacturers are worried about falling behind their overseas competitors, according to a new survey out today. EEF and Vodafone, who conducted the survey, said that while 94 per cent of UK manufacturers were engaged in innovation initiatives, most were concerned that they were not doing enough to stay competitive. Their sentiment matches the latest [...]
Global blues dragging down UK blue chips: Domestic strength has not been enough to buoy UK stocks August 23, 2015 Any drop of 10 per cent or more in the stock market over a short space of time is known as a “correction”. The FTSE 100 is well into correction territory. The index of the 100 biggest London-listed firms ended 2014 just above 6,500. It then surged past 7,000 to hit a peak of 7,104 [...]
King of Soho Paul Raymond’s London property empire rises in value to £565m August 23, 2015 Soho Estates, the West End property empire of the late porn baron Paul Raymond, saw the value of its assets rise eight per cent to £565.6m last year. Raymond left the bulk of his estate to his granddaughters Fawn James, a director, and India James when he died in 2008, aged 82. The [...]
UK landlords hold onto property for longer: Average time to sell a rental home rises to 17 years August 23, 2015 Landlords are holding on to properties for longer than they were before the last recession, with the average time between a landlord buying and selling a property rising by five years since 2007, according to lettings giant Countrywide. The company, which runs 1,300 branches under 48 brands including Hamptons International, said that as well [...]
Chaos on European markets as FTSE 100 tumbles, while S&P 500 crashes below 2,000 points August 21, 2015 The FTSE 100 clocked its biggest weekly loss this year, falling 2.8 per cent to 6,187.6 points, while US markets were equally hit, with the S&P 500 crashing below 2,000 for the first time since February. Meanwhile, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 closed down three per cent, its worst one-day fall since October. Britain's top share [...]
WTI crude oil price is tumbling towards $40 a barrel as it sets up for second longest losing streak in over 30 years August 21, 2015 US oil price benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude spent the afternoon plummeting towards the $40 a barrel mark, its lowest level since 2008. In late afternoon trading, the benchmark was hovering around $40.16 a barrel. This comes as WTI is set to hit its second-longest losing streak in more than 30 years, falling more [...]
Volatility on European and Asian markets sets off the Vix “fear index” August 21, 2015 A widely watched “fear index” jumped 16 per cent in intraday trading to 22.19 points amid increasing concern about a slowdown in China’s economy. A purchasing managers survey released early this morning showed China’s factories shrank at the fastest rate in almost six-and-a-half-years in August. The news has weighed on stock markets in Asia, Europe [...]
XpertHR survey: UK employees’ pay rises stuck at two per cent in the last three month to July August 21, 2015 UK pay rises stalled in the three months to July, with employers feeling unable, or seeing no need, to offer workers better deals. Basic pay awards in the three months to the end of July stood at two per cent, unchanged since April 2014, according to a survey by XpertHR. The XpertHR pay measure tracks the increase in pay [...]
FTSE hits 2015 low as China stocks plummet after sharp contraction in manufacturing August 21, 2015 The FTSE 100 hit a new intraday low for 2015 this morning, falling as low as 6,328 points, after shock manufacturing figures from China pushed markets across the world lower. Figures published overnight showed Chinese factories contracted at their fastest pace in six and a half years in August. The Caixin/Markit purchasing managers' index for [...]
Public sector borrowing: Government finances show a July surplus for the first time since 2012 – these five charts show the state the UK’s finances are in August 21, 2015 Figures published this morning showed the government's finances moved into surplus for the first July since 2012, with public sector net borrowing showing a surplus of just under £1.3bn, a fall in borrowing of £1.4bn compared with the same period last year. That's partly down to tax receipts, which rose to £7.8bn in July, £1.2bn [...]