Demand ‘peaks’ as US services recovery slows August 4, 2021 The pace of the recovery in the US services industry slowed markedly over the last month, prompted by the initial rebound in demand triggered by the Covid unlocking easing, according to a closely watched survey. IHS Markit’s US services purchasing managers’ index for July dropped to 59.9, the lowest reading since February of this year, [...]
PMI: Pingdemic crimps UK services industry August 4, 2021 The “pingdemic” has hit activity in the UK services industry as firms struggle to ramp up supply to cope with soaring demand due to severe worker shortages, according to a closely watched survey released today. The latest IHS Markit / CIPS purchasing managers’ index for the UK services industry dropped to 59.6 in July, down [...]
Eurozone retail sales rise above pre-Covid levels to record high August 4, 2021 Eurozone retail sales surged past pre-Covid levels in June to reach a record high, according to new figures published today. Retails sales in the 19 countries that make up the area jumped 1.5 per cent over the last month, driven by consumers returning to high streets, restaurants and bars, although at a slower pace than [...]
PMI: Eurozone business activity soars to 15-year high August 4, 2021 The rapid rollout of Covid vaccines across Europe is fuelling consumer spending, helping to propel business activity in the Eurozone to a 15-year high, according to a closely watched survey released today. IHS Markit’s latest Eurozone purchasing managers’ composite output index rose to 60.2 in July, driven by an acceleration in manufacturing growth and strong [...]
Oil prices plummet on surging Covid cases August 3, 2021 Oil prices plummeted on Tuesday as the resurgence in Covid cases globally driven by the Delta variant fuelled concerns that restrictions on economic activity may be reimposed. Global benchmarks WTI and Brent Crude slid 1.39 per cent and 1.12 per cent to hit $70.41 and $72.22 respectively – WTI briefly dipped below $70. Prices have [...]
Bank of England’s MPC meeting: Who will take Haldane’s hawkish reins? August 3, 2021 A big hole has been left at the table of the latest round of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee meetings – they are the first since chief economist Andy Haldane departed the Old Lady after over 30 years of service. Much of the focus on Thursday’s MPC policy announcements will be on whether [...]
Mitigating litigation risk: The impact of corporate social performance factors August 3, 2021 | City Talk Much has been written on the merits of ESG investing strategies and their ability to deliver comparable, if not superior, performance to traditional benchmarks. A majority of institutional investors are motivated to employ ESG investing strategies because they believe ESG will improve risk adjusted returns1, yet the circumstances in which ESG leads to better outcomes [...]
Countryside creep: London homeowners flee capital at record rate August 2, 2021 London homeowners are fleeing the capital at record levels as city slickers pursue newfound housing needs triggered by the Covid crisis, according to new figures released today. Research by estate agent Hamptons shows 61,830 Londoners purchased homes outside the capital in the first six months of this year, the highest number since they started recording [...]
UK jobs market recovery accelerates on better than expected consumer spending August 2, 2021 The UK jobs market recovery is accelerating as a stronger than expected rebound in consumer spending is encouraging firms to take on staff, according to new figures released today. Research published by Lloyds Bank shows the proportion of UK businesses expecting to ramp up hiring rose to 18 per cent, a sixth consecutive monthly increase [...]
Sunday Read: Bank of England’s QE programme has muddied the water between right and wrong August 1, 2021 “The problem with QE is it works in practice but it doesn’t work in theory,” an often quoted joke said by former Fed chair Ben Bernanke. But, some are testing that hypothesis. The backdrop to Thursday’s Bank of England meeting is much more unforgiving than previous ones. A House of Lords committee recently accused the [...]