Non-farm payroll: US jobs in biggest jump this year June 5, 2015 After weeks of disappointing economic figures, there's finally a glimmer of hope for the US economy: non-farm payroll figures out today showed the number of job openings jumped by 280,000 in May. That's up from 221,000 in April – and the best figure this year. Read more: Stephanie Flanders – Can a currency save an [...]
Hanging on the telephone: Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras arranges call with Vladimir Putin June 5, 2015 As the chances of Greece ever unlocking that €7.2bn emergency loan look increasingly bleak, the country's embattled Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, has taken a step towards a decidedly nuclear option. The FT reported that Tsipras has arranged a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin later today. Apparently there isn't much information on what will be discussed – [...]
A room with a view? A house in a national park could cost you 93 per cent more than the average June 5, 2015 How much would you pay for a room with a view? House prices in Britain’s national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) are commanding up to 125 per cent more than the average house price in their host counties, according to research from Knight Frank. In 10 of the country’s 13 national parks, [...]
Fears for UK economic recovery as slowing job growth puts more pressure on the service sector June 5, 2015 Not great news for the UK's jobs market: research from REC and KPMG has revealed that the rate of hiring had slowed to a four-month low, with the bullish service sector carrying the majority of the load. The data comes just two days after a report showed growth in the UK’s service sector slowed at [...]
European markets tumble on Greek IMF payment delay June 5, 2015 European markets reacted badly to the news that Greece has been given the go-ahead to bundle a €300m (£220m) payment due to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today into one large payment at the end of the month. Read more: Can only fiscal integration secure the Eurozone's future? The FTSE 100 was down 0.43 per cent [...]
BCC downgrades UK’s 2015 growth forecast – but predicts earnings are set to rise June 5, 2015 The British Chambers of Commerce has downgraded its UK growth forecast for 2015, following weaker than expected growth at the start of the year. The BCC's forecast for UK GDP was revised downwards from 2.7 per cent to 2.3 per cent. However, the business group said that, despite the downgrade, it expected the slowdown to [...]
Greece shocks IMF by holding back €300m June 4, 2015 The standoff between Greece and its creditors intensified last night when the embattled Mediterranean state refused to cough up €300m (£218m) owed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The payment, due today, is one of several instalments in June which Athens now says it will bundle into one transfer at the end of the month. [...]
Bonds rocked again after Mario Draghi’s volatility warning June 4, 2015 European traders faced extraordinary levels of volatility yesterday, just a day after European Central Bank (ECB) chief Mario Draghi’s warning that markets should “get used to it”. The volatility of the German bund, an interest-paying IOU from the German government, was the biggest surprise, given that it is one of the more stable bonds. The [...]
Wages in London grow faster than in the rest of the country June 4, 2015 Wages in the capital are increasing faster than they have in nearly a year, according to a new survey out today. The survey, carried out by the Recruitment & Employment Confederation and KPMG, found that wages for permanent employees in London increased for the twenty-fourth successive month in May, marking an uninterrupted, two-year trend of successive [...]
Fitch: It is still too difficult to compare banks June 4, 2015 Investors cannot fairly compare banks’ capital buffers and financial soundness because the rules allow them too much flexibility in how they report their numbers, analysts at credit ratings agency Fitch warned yesterday. The biggest banks calculate their risk-weighted assets (RWAs) based on internal models of risk, which are then approved by regulators. But the models [...]