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 [...]
CBI: Plain cigarette packaging vote is bad for the UK March 10, 2015 Britain’s top business group has urged parliamentarians to strike down government plans that would see cigarettes sold in plain, unbranded packaging from May 2016. The intervention by CBI director general John Cridland is a significant step for a major business figure to take so near to a General Election, and may damage the Conservatives’ claim [...]
Mark Carney says talk of cut to interest rate is overblown March 10, 2015 Bank of England governor Mark Carney yesterday implied that talks of a cut in interest rates nearer to zero were overblown. He also ruled out cancelling government debt held by the Bank to reduce the headline figure. Policy makers will “look through” falls in energy and food prices that would keep inflation below target this [...]
Euro plunges to near-parity with US dollar March 10, 2015 THE EURO came within touching distance of parity with the dollar yesterday as monetary policies on either side of the Atlantic diverge. The Eurozone began using new money to buy government debt this week, which is impacting the currency, despite being outlined in advance. The euro fell by 1.45 per cent against the dollar yesterday to [...]
UK numbers up despite challenges March 10, 2015 INSURANCE group Prudential posted pre-tax profit of £2.6bn for 2014, up 71 per cent on last year’s £1.5bn, despite significant changes in the UK market. New business sales were up by 12 per cent, from £4.2bn to £4.7bn, while in the UK sales grew by 18 per cent, from £725m to £857m. The company increased its [...]