The UK is more positive than the US or Germany towards immigration, with 3 out of 10 saying migration benefits Britain August 7, 2015 Britons are more positive than most towards immigration, shows a new survey from Ipsos Mori on global attitudes towards migration, but the burden on the country’s public services remains a concern. Intensifying debate about border controls and rising migration levels, especially in the run-up to the general election, have done little to dampen public opinion [...]
Non-farm payroll: US jobs growth fails to live up to expectations with job openings up by 215,000 in July August 7, 2015 US jobs growth failed to live up to expectations, after non-farm payroll figures released today showed the number of job openings rose 215,000 in July, falling short of forecasts. Experts were predicting jobs growth of 223,000 according to a Reuters poll, and the dollar initially dropped steeply following the news, but quickly bounced back to [...]
UK exports hit by strong pound as trade deficit widens August 7, 2015 The UK's trade deficit widened in June as the strong pound hit exporters – although the £1.6bn figure was still considerably lower than the March's six-month high of £3.2bn. Exports fell £300m to £24.9bn, while imports rose £500m to £34.1bn, a release by the Office for National Statistics showed today. As the Eurozone continued to [...]
Bank of England deputy governor Ben Broadbent says “no urgency” to raise rates; would be “foolish” to pre-announce interest rate hike date August 7, 2015 Bank of England (BoE) deputy governor Ben Broadbent has played down expectation that there could be a rate rise by the end of 2015. Mark Carney's second-in-command this morning said his boss's speech "did not say we can expect a rate rise around the turn of the year", adding it was "impossible" and "foolish" to pre-announce [...]
New car registrations climb in July for 41st month in a row August 6, 2015 UK car sales grew for a 41st consecutive month in July, new data shows, but market analysts expect the purchases to decelerate toward the end of the year. UK firms and consumers bought 178,420 new cars in July, according to figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). It is 3.2 per cent more [...]
Traditional banking needs to act fast to survive Google’s predictive power August 6, 2015 The options we have for our everyday bank accounts are increasing. Virgin Money, Tesco Bank and the Post Office have recently entered the personal current account market, and prospective entrants include Atom, Starling, Civilised Bank and OakNorth. But could the biggest competition to our traditional banks be hiding in plain sight? There are various factors [...]
Super Thursday: Five key takes from the Bank of England’s inflation report August 6, 2015 The Bank of England's first data dump landed with a thud today after both the minutes from its monthly interest rate meeting and its inflation report struck an unexpectedly dovish tone. Analysts had been expecting at least two members of the nine-strong monetary policy committee to vote for an interest rate rise for the first [...]
UK industrial production falls on oil and gas as manufacturing output shows modest growth August 6, 2015 UK industrial output has unexpectedly fallen by 0.4 per cent in June, led by oil and gas output falling. Industrial output fell compared to an increase of 0.3 per cent in May and compared to expectations of a 0.1 per cent rise in June, according to figures from the Office of National Statistics. The fall [...]
Bank of England: Taylor Wimpey, Persimmon and Barratt Developments share prices rise after not-so-super Thursday August 6, 2015 Shares in housebuilders were boosted today after the Bank of England's historic "data dump" struck an unexpectedly dovish note. Taylor Wimpey shares rose 2.19 per cent to 200.5p per share, while Persimmon was 1.22 per cent higher at 2,079p per share and Barratt Developments was 1.4 per cent higher at 650p per share. Read more: Mortgage [...]
Why widening the Suez Canal might not boost trade between Asia and Europe August 6, 2015 Egypt has just spent a huge $8bn (£5bn) on widening the Suez Canal – the fastest trade route between Asia and Europe. Read more: Egypt to build a new Suez Canal for $45bn By adding a new 21 mile long bypass along the 120 mile canal, Egypt hopes to transform its economy by [...]