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 The lenders have been built up over decades from mergers of smaller banks, leaving them with a range of outdated [...]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 [...]
US growth beats expectations as dollar gets a lift October 30, 2014 THE DOLLAR continued to increase against the euro yesterday after US GDP growth surprised on the upside and the market further digested hawkish statements from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday. Annualised growth – what annual growth would be if the three-month growth rate were maintained over a full year – was 3.5 per cent in [...]
US concern over strong dollar to delay rate hike October 8, 2014 US STOCKS jumped last night as newly released details from the US central bank’s September meeting showed concern over raising rates too early. Policy makers at the Federal Reserve expressed concern that weak economic growth in the Eurozone, China and Japan could hit US exporters. Their worries were compounded by the risk of unforeseen events [...]
Rouble falls to a new low against dollar and pound as sanctions bite October 8, 2014 President Putin celebrated his birthday yesterday, but it's just as well he is a tee-totaller because Russia's currency is probably giving him enough of a headache to worry about. The rouble has fallen to a new low against both the dollar and the pound today, as sanctions and falling oil prices continued to hit [...]
Every Lidl helps when it comes to boosting local house prices September 21, 2014 Living close to a discount store such as Lidl can increase the price of your property by almost £30,000, according to research released today. Research by online estate agents Housesimple.co.uk looked at the location of Lidl supermarkets in some of the major towns and cities across the UK and found that, in 80 per cent [...]