Bank of England governor Mark Carney says global deflation forces, strong sterling could delay rate hike March 12, 2015 Bank of England governor Mark Carney has said that low inflation outside of the UK, as well as a strong sterling, could cause the central bank to push back a rate hike. "It may be appropriate to take into account persistent external deflationary forces arising from the combination of continued foreign low inflation and the [...]
Chinese government restrictions failing to curb Bitcoin use March 12, 2015 China is going mad for Bitcoin, according to a new report by Goldman Sachs. Despite the government's measures to restrict use of the currency 80 per cent of Bitcoin volume is now driven by the Chinese Yuan. The next biggest driver of transactions is the US dollar, followed by the Euro. The bank isn’t alone [...]
Euro falls closer to parity with dollar March 11, 2015 The euro extended its seemingly unstoppable decline yesterday, with City analysts predicting that the currency will soon be on a par with the US dollar. A drop of more than one per cent pushed the euro to below $1.06 for the first time since 2003. The pound climbed to be worth over €1.42 in mid-day [...]
Self-employment is not bad, says Bank of England March 11, 2015 Self-employment has boomed in recent years because of changes in technology making it easier for people to set up on their own, a Bank of England analysis showed today. Its report came as the National Institute for Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said GDP growth is growing at a strong and steady pace. Self-employment accounts for [...]
Backing the USA: Dollar climbs as investors buy into recovery March 11, 2015 Amid much talk of a US rate hike, Chris Papadopoullos asks if it will happen as quickly as some think The Federal Reserve has a way with words. Last year, it prompted mass market confusion by saying it would wait for a “considerable time” before hiking interest rates. In December, it ditched the term and [...]
UK house prices accelerate as drop in London moderates March 11, 2015 The fall in London house prices is moderating, an influential study of property surveyors showed today. The proportion of surveyors reporting falling prices in the capital outweighed those reporting a rise by a margin of 28 per cent in February, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said. By contrast, the net balance seeing prices fall [...]
Hawkish Martin Weale could be set to change interest rate hike vote March 11, 2015 UK rate-setter Martin Weale has hinted he could revert back to voting for a hike in interest rates, a decision he had only recently reversed. “Despite the international concern about very low inflation, I see the decision of whether or not to tighten policy as finely balanced,” the Bank of England official told an audience [...]
Plain cigarette packaging: MPs vote in favour of law that will see standardised packaging from 2016 March 11, 2015 MPs have voted in favour of plain packaging on cigarettes which will see just a brand name and health warnings appear on packets from next year. Some 367 MPs voted in favour of the move while 113 voted against after a long-running battle between business and health campaigners since the government first made a move [...]
Bank of England’s Martin Weale: Interest rate hike remains “finely balanced” March 11, 2015 The eventual interest rate hike remains "a finely balanced tug of war" and "pulls in both directions have intensified", a member of the Bank of England's rate-setting committee said in a speech made today. Weale said the bank must weigh the fact rising wages without a corresponding pick-up in productivity will strengthen the case for [...]
The UK economy could gain £38bn by improving digital technology by 2020 March 11, 2015 Better use of digital technology would boost the UK economy by £38bn and help increase global output by almost a trillion pounds. Improving digital technology in the world’s top 10 economies would benefit the global economy by more than £900bn in increased productivity by 2020, according to a new analysis of the global digital economy. The [...]