Bank of England: Mortgage approvals fall to 17-month low January 2, 2015 The number of mortgages rubber-stamped by banks dropped again in November, although by less than analysts had expected. Nevertheless, the figure is a 17-month low, underlining the trajectory of the market. During the month, banks approved 59,029 mortgages, down from 59,511 in October, but above the 58,500 analyst consensus. The fall has been a [...]
Black Friday 2014 lifts UK retail growth to 10-year high December 18, 2014 UK retail sales growth surged to a 10-year high in November thanks to roaring trade on Black Friday weekend, when retailers offered discounts on thousands of products. Falling commodity prices and the ongoing supermarket price wars have left households better off and helped boost consumer spending. Retail sales volumes rose 1.6 per cent on the [...]
Swiss central bank imposes negative interest rate: Franc drops against the euro December 18, 2014 The Swiss Central Bank (SCB) has moved to stop the franc hitting its currency exchange ceiling of 1.2 Swiss francs to the euro by imposing a 0.25 per cent tax on sight deposit account balances. A sight account is one in which funds can be transferred at speed and with no restriction, or withdrawn as [...]
Rising wages and falling inflation boost workers December 17, 2014 Wages continued to beat inflation in the year to October, official figures revealed yesterday. Regular pay (excluding bonuses) was 1.6 per cent higher in the three months to October than the same period a year ago, according to the Office for National Statistics. Inflation as measured by annual growth in the consumer price index was [...]
Inflation hawks stand ground December 17, 2014 BANK of England policy makers voted seven to two to hold interest rates at the beginning of December. The decision was announced two weeks ago but the discussion and vote split were only revealed yesterday along with the minutes of the meeting. The two who voted for a rate hike were Ian McCafferty and Martin [...]
Bank of England stress test results: Lenders braced to spend hundreds of millions of pounds on IT improvements December 15, 2014 Britain's biggest banks are set to spend the next year pushing through major revamps of their IT systems, as stress tests have revealed problems in their ability to gather data on their own loan books. The lenders have been built up over decades from mergers of smaller banks, leaving them with a range of outdated [...]
London growth strengthens as UK rebounds December 7, 2014 Economic growth in the UK rose to a stronger pace in November, new survey data shows. The UK purchasing managers’ index – a survey of private sector firms – rose to 57.6 in November from October’s 55.8, according to figures released today by Lloyds Bank. A score above 50 signifies expansion. The figures represent a [...]
Dollar falls as US unemployment drops – but not enough November 7, 2014 The dollar wobbled, then fell 0.15 per cent against the pound after the US announced weaker-than-expected jobs growth. Non-farm payroll figures published by the US' Bureau of Labor Statistics today showed the country added 214,000 jobs in September, a drop from September's 256,000 and way below expectations of 235,000. Unemployment fell to 5.8 per cent, [...]
Rouble edges up after falling to historic low against dollar and euro November 7, 2014 The rouble recovered slightly against the dollar in late morning trading, after it dropped to historic lows against both the dollar and the euro. At one point in mid-morning, it took more than 48 roubles to buy a dollar, as investors showed their lack of confidence in the Russian central bank's ability to control its [...]
Dollar rises as US jobs data beats expectations November 5, 2014 Having experienced a blip over the summer, the US jobs market continued its recovery in October, creating 230,000 new jobs, data by payroll company ADP showed today. The figure beat expectations of 220,000, causing the dollar to rise 0.4 per cent against both the pound and the euro. The data comes ahead of Friday's non-farm [...]