Dollar dives as US retail sales unexpectedly shrink in June July 14, 2015 The dollar fell after the commerce department said US retail sales unexpectedly fell by 0.3 percent in June, missing economists' expectations for a 0.2 per cent rise. Additionally the retail sales figure for May was revised down by 0.2 per cent to show one per cent growth, down from the 1.2 per cent initially reported. This [...]
Sterling jumps after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney says interest rate hike “moving closer” July 14, 2015 The pound jumped to $1.56 this morning after Bank of England boss Mark Carney said an interest rate rise is "moving closer" as he appeared before the newly-formed Treasury Select Committee. "The point at which interest rates may begin to rise is moving closer with the performance of the economy, consistent growth above trend, a [...]
Inflation back to zero: Here’s what the analysts said July 14, 2015 Falling clothing and food prices sent Britain back into "noflation" in June, down from 0.1 per cent in May, according to figures releases today by the Office for National Statistics. Read more: Britain falls back into "noflation" territory Here's what analysts had to say: Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said: Core inflation (excluding energy, food, [...]
Misconceptions about housing: These five charts show how wrong we are about rent, house prices and deposits July 14, 2015 Hot on the heels of the Ipsos Mori poll showing that most of us have no idea how much raising children, buying a house, or paying for education cost, the research institute has dug deeper into our insights on housing – and it turns out we’re pretty far off. Just over three quarters of British [...]
UK inflation falls back to zero as Britain returns to “noflation” territory July 14, 2015 The falling price of clothes and food meant that Britain's consumer price index slipped back to zero last month, from a 0.1 per cent increase in May, and coming in line with economists' expectations. Figures released today by the Office for National Statistics showed clothing and footwear prices fell by 0.4 per cent in the [...]
Greece missed another IMF payment last night July 14, 2015 Raising virtually no eyebrows at all, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced last night that Greece has missed another payment – this time of about €456m (£323.9m). Lest we forget, Greece is already in arrears to the IMF, to the tune of €1.6bn, after it missed a payment at the end of June. A statement [...]
Greek PM Alexis Tsipras faces backlash to proposed bailout package as civil servants’ union calls for 24-hour strike July 14, 2015 Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras hailed the "message of democracy" his country had sent in reaching a bailout agreement with its creditors, but already it's become clear not everyone back home shares his view. Just as he touched down in Athens to round up the votes needed to pass required reforms into law, Greece's civil [...]
Top UK firms to reveal wages for male and female employees as David Cameron vows to “end gender pay gap” July 13, 2015 Large companies will soon be required to publish what they pay male and female employees, under new rules to be announced by Prime Minister David Cameron today as part of a commitment to “end the gender pay gap in a generation”. The rules will apply to companies with more than 250 workers. A consultation with [...]
Grek debt crisis: Alexis Tsipras now faces scrap in Athens over new deal July 13, 2015 Embattled Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is facing a backlash from supporters after accepting the broad terms of a new bailout deal. The agreement requires Greece to undertake more reforms and austerity in return for cash, despite the country rejecting such a deal in a national referendum just over one week ago. Workers from the [...]
Oil prices drop as nuclear deal with Iran looms July 13, 2015 Oil prices were stuck below $60 yesterday and with an Iranian nuclear deal in the offing could fall further again in the near future. Talks between Iran and Western powers were due to end last night, and officials said yesterday that a deal aimed at ending sanctions on the Middle Eastern country in return for [...]