Global growth to slow, says WTO October 28, 2005 A report by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has warned that the world faces a long-term trend of lower growth. Although global goods trade is predicted to grow slightly more than usual next year, the organisation’s director director general Pascal Lamy has warned that the world badly needs the successful resolution of the Doha world [...]
Jobs cutting will speed up, says CBI October 27, 2005 Manufactures expect to cut jobs over the next quarter at a faster rate than the last three months to October, according to the CBI. “The decline in headcount was broadly in line with expectations, though firms expect to cut jobs at a moderately faster rate over the next three months,” the business group announced in [...]
Bank warns of hard times October 26, 2005 Bank of England governor Mervyn King has warned that the British economy is about to embark on a bumpy ride over the coming years after the stability enjoyed in recent times. At a hearing in front of a House of Lords parliamentary committee, King said people should not expect the Bank to “fine tune the [...]
Bush names Bernanke Fed chairman October 25, 2005 President George W Bush has nominated Ben Bernanke to succeed Alan Greenspan as chairman of the Federal Reserve. Bernanke was a bookies’ favourites, along with Republican stalwarts Martin Feldstein and Glenn Hubbard, both advisors to Ronald Reagan. A former economics professor at America’s elite Princeton University, Bernanke served as a Fed governor between 2002 and [...]
Crash Course? October 24, 2005 On the anniversary of the 1929 stock market collapse, Laurie Laird asks if we are in danger of repeating that disaster. What year is it? It’s October, and the autumn fashion shows have featured falling hemlines and rising waistbands — the wasp waist is back. On the economics front, the world’s biggest economy has been [...]
London is too taxed October 24, 2005 The government is imposing an onerous and discriminatory system on taxpayers in London, according to a recent survey. The survey by Williams de Broe into regional disparities in the cost of living has found that the starting point for income tax in London should be £1,550 higher than in the country’s poorest region, Northern Ireland, [...]
House prices slip again October 24, 2005 House prices have fallen for the 16th consecutive month according to the Hometrack October survey. This pours cold water on recent claims that the market is picking up. Hometrack says that the average house price has fallen by 3.5 per cent to £160,000 over the past 12 months from a peak of £167,000 in June [...]
Record profit warnings October 21, 2005 The number of British companies issuing profit warnings in September surged to a four-year record due to difficult market and trading conditions. According to research by Ernst & Young, 103 firms listed on the London Stock Exchange issued a warning in the three months to 30 September. This represents a rise of 39 per cent [...]
China GDP on a roll October 21, 2005 China’s economy recorded a whopping 9.4 per cent growth in the last quarter, leaving the anaemic economies of the West far behind. Growth exceeded analysts’ expectations as the Chinese juggernaut was bolstered by strong exports and high public spending. Real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 9.4 per cent on last year on the back [...]
Brown shaves £3bn off budget deficit October 21, 2005 Chancellor Gordon Brown got off lightly yesterday when the public sector finance figures released by the Treasury looked much healthier than expected. However, analysts suspect some sleight of hand in the way the figure has been calculated. The budget deficit narrowed to £14.6bn for the first six months of fiscal year 2005-2006, down from £17.6bn [...]