CBI industrial trends survey: Manufacturing orders unexpectedly improve in August August 20, 2015 A widely watched industry survey has shown manufacturer's order books unexpectedly improved this month. The CBI's industrial trends survey showed monthly total order book balance increased to -1 from -10 in July. Economists had expected it to remain stagnant. Output continued to grow at a steady pace in the three months to August, and this should continue [...]
Why we are still only building half the homes we need? August 20, 2015 Today’s release of the latest figures for homebuilding by the Department for Communities and Local Government make for interesting reading for all those interested in ending our nation’s housing crisis. Read more: The number of new homes being built has actually fallen Ultimately, they are a mixed bag. On a positive note, housing [...]
The number of young people not in education, employment, or training is going down August 20, 2015 The job prospects for young people are improving, despite the fact unemployment overall has stopped declining. There were 922,000 young people who were not in education, employment or training (Neets) from April to June, the Office for National Statistics said this morning. It marks a drop of 21,000 from the first quarter of this year. The [...]
Students are more right-wing than the general public on key economic matters like tax rates, nationalisation and redistribution August 20, 2015 Students may have a reputation for being a bunch of radical left-wing activists, but it turns out when it comes to economic issues, they’re actually more right-wing than the general public. From anti-apartheid sit-ins to tuition fee protests, students sure do like to get involved in politics. But don’t be surprised if the next time [...]
UK house prices: The number of new houses being built has actually fallen August 20, 2015 Given we're in the midst of a housing crisis, and the government has made all manner of promises to increase the number of homes being built, this is hardly encouraging: new figures have shown the number of new housing starts actually fell to 33,280 in the second quarter, six per cent lower than the same [...]
UK retail sales rise 0.4 per cent in July as summer sales entice shoppers August 20, 2015 UK retail sales rose 0.4 per cent in July, official data showed today – suggesting summer sales did the trick, enticing consumers to the high street. The figure – which strips out fuel sales – was an impressive turnaround from a 0.3 per cent fall in June. Including petrol, the figure showed a drop of [...]
Greece’s third bailout deal has been signed – here’s what happens next August 20, 2015 This evening, the head of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) signed a contract for Greece's third bailout agreement, meaning a further €86bn (£61bn) of financial assistance will be released to the struggling economy over the next three years. Read more: Greek debt crisis: German lawmakers vote yes to bailout deal The board of governors approved the [...]
Ill-designed European Union risks fixed-rate mortgage lending in the UK August 20, 2015 Fixed rate mortgages are massively popular with consumers, 68 per cent of all mortgage products from building societies in the first half of 2015 were fixed rate. With the narrative from the Bank of England hinting that the base rate will start to rise later this year or early 2016, the drive from the public [...]
Commodity chaos hammers the FTSE following Glencore share price slump August 20, 2015 Shares in Glencore tumbled nearly 10 per cent to a record low The FTSE 100 sank to its lowest level since January yesterday after mining behemoth Glencore failed to reassure investors with its response to a global slump in the price of metals. Shares in Glencore tumbled nearly 10 per cent to a [...]
London City Airport expansion plans stay grounded following Mayor Boris Johnson’s U-turn August 20, 2015 The battle for London City Airport is heating up. Less than a month has passed since its owners Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and Oaktree Capital put the site to the east of the capital up for sale with a price tag of around £2bn. But already two heavyweight bidders have emerged, including one of the [...]