UK consumer confidence holds up in May despite Brexit impasse May 31, 2019 Consumers were feeling more upbeat about the British economy in May than they were in April despite Brexit, a new survey has shown, although confidence was well below the longer-term average. Read more: Warm-weather pub trips boost tepid consumer spending growth in April Meanwhile, more people felt positive about their personal financial situation than during [...]
US first quarter growth revised down to 3.1 per cent May 30, 2019 US first quarter economic growth was revised down slightly to an annualised rate of 3.1 per cent, according to the second estimate released today by the country’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Read more: Global markets sink into the red as technology front opens up in trade war The annualised growth rate is nonetheless one of [...]
Interest rates would be hiked if Britain achieves orderly Brexit, says Bank of England May 30, 2019 Deputy governor of the Bank of England Dave Ramsden has said interest rates would need to be hiked if Britain leaves the European Union in an orderly manner with a transition deal. Read more: Hammond may topple new PM to prevent no-deal Brexit Ramsden, speaking in Inverness, Scotland, said although he expected growth to pick [...]
The inflation target is just the start for the next ECB president May 30, 2019 With the EU elections out of the way, the horse-trading over a host of top EU jobs, including who replaces Mario Draghi as president of the European Central Bank (ECB), will ratchet up. By the European Council meeting on 20-21 June, a successor to Draghi should become clear. The new president’s most urgent task is [...]
Keep your wits about you, it’s not easy to navigate this tyrannical political jungle May 30, 2019 Any country that forced its citizens to spend over 40 per cent of their time working for those in power would be roundly condemned as a slave state and the most appalling tyranny. Yet this is the effective reality in Britain. Just over two fifths – 40.94 per cent – of everything the nation earns is [...]
Urgent action needed to tackle stagnating productivity, top economists warn May 30, 2019 The UK and other rich countries must take urgent action on multiple fronts to tackle the productivity slowdown that is undermining growth and preventing living standards from improving, Oxford University economists have today warned. Read more: UK productivity falls for second consecutive quarter Despite rapid technological change, productivity growth in nearly all of the world’s [...]
Britain’s tax bill at its highest since 1955 in comparison to earnings May 30, 2019 Tory heavyweights have taken aim at high taxes in the UK to mark what a think tank has dubbed Tax Freedom Day, a measure of when Brits stop paying tax and start pocketing their earnings. The Adam Smith Institute has estimated that every penny the average person earned for working up to and including 29 [...]
ECB warns low growth could see Eurozone asset prices fall and borrowing costs rise May 29, 2019 Weak economic growth could cause euro area asset prices to fall and borrowing costs for indebted countries to rise, the European Central Bank (ECB) has today warned, posing a major threat to the zone’s financial stability. Read more: Eurozone sees weak growth in May amid stagnant demand The ECB’s May financial stability report comes during [...]
Service sector sentiment and profitability drops as Brexit uncertainty drags on May 29, 2019 Firms across the UK’s service sector have struggled with falling profits, business volumes and sentiment in the last three months as Brexit uncertainty continues to take its toll. Business and professional service companies saw profits drop 24 per cent, at the fastest pace since November 2011, while consumer service firms said profitability fell 25 per [...]
From taxes to cats, Theresa May’s government has been an affront to Conservative ideology May 29, 2019 Theresa May has finally announced her resignation. How can we capture the flavour of her tenure in office? This can be found in the dry and measured content of the Economic and Fiscal Outlook from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The OBR stated in its latest publication in March 2019 that: “the tax receipts-to-GDP [...]