Job ads dip for first time in two months August 13, 2021 Job vacancies fell for the first time in two months suggesting that severe worker shortages that have plagued the UK labour market are starting to clear, according to new figures released today. Data from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation shows the number of active job postings dropped by 2,000 over the last week, the first [...]
EU exports to Britain jump as trade surplus widens August 13, 2021 Exports to Britain from the European Union jumped over the last month helping to widen the bloc’s trade surplus, according to official figures released today. Figures from Eurostat, the EU’s official statistics agency, show exports to Britain rose 4.7 per cent in June compared to May, despite the UK leaving the EU’s single market at [...]
Fed to provide clues on bond buying tapering next month August 13, 2021 Experts expect the Federal Reserve to announce its plan to wind down its ultra-loose monetary policy measures launched in response to the Covid crisis next month. Nearly two thirds of economists polled by Reuters think the US central bank will outline how it will taper its asset purchases at the next meeting of the Federal [...]
Low earners bear the brunt of job cuts in high pay packet areas August 12, 2021 Areas of the UK that house people on higher pay packets have registered some of the steepest falls in jobs during the Covid crisis, reveal brand new figures released today. Research from the Resolution Foundation shows Westminster in central London, the area of the UK with the highest average earnings, experienced a 3.6 per cent [...]
White House urges Opec to boost oil supply August 11, 2021 The White House has urged the alliance of oil producing nations to rapidly scale oil production to avoid a slow down in the global economic recovery. In a statement released today, the White House said President Joe Biden’s administration had pushed Opec to ramp up oil output to ease supply constraints. Global benchmarks slipped on [...]
Affordability in UK housing market plunges to 10-year low August 11, 2021 Affordability in the UK property market has plunged over the last year amid soaring house prices and stagnating wage growth, according to new figures published today. Research from Halifax shows the average home in the UK now costs 8.1 times average earnings, the highest on record since the lender started tracking the figures 10 years [...]
US inflation comes in hotter than expected in July August 11, 2021 US inflation come in higher than expectations in July and is still running above historic levels, according to official figures released today. US inflation hit 5.4 per cent annually in July, the same rate recorded in June, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Monthly inflation cooled to 0.5 per cent from 0.9 per [...]
Podcast: The plastic problem facing investors August 11, 2021 | City Talk Read the full transcript Part one: The weight of plastic worth all the fish in the sea Ashleigh Cowie (AC): In doing research for this podcast I came across this astonishing fact. Are you ready for it? David Brett (DB): Go on then. Hit me with it. AC: Right now, there are more than 5 trillion pieces of [...]
Exclusive: Unpaid stamp duty clawed back by the tax man soars to five-year high August 11, 2021 Tax clawed back from probes into suspected unpaid stamp duty reached a five-year high this year, reveal exclusive figures obtained by City A.M. The tax man recouped an average of £113,400 from each investigation it launched into unpaid stamp duty in 2020/21, shows data secured through a Freedom of Information request submitted to HMRC. The data [...]
Strategic asset allocation or how I learned to stop worrying and love dispersion August 10, 2021 | City Talk For decades, strategic asset allocation has been considered the driving force behind investment portfolio returns. But the old adage that allocation determines 90 per cent of performance is rapidly becoming outdated. During 2020 and 2021, we have seen how the world of investing is shifting from one in which declining interest rates drive beta performance [...]