Euro falls as meeting minutes show ECB ready to ease rates July 11, 2019 The euro has fallen against the pound after minutes from the European Central Bank (ECB)’s last meeting showed board members were leaning towards an interest rate cut in June. Read more: Euro plunges as ECB president Mario Draghi signals more stimulus The account released today showed ECB governing council members were in “broad agreement” that [...]
Richard Branson: Sterling could hit dollar parity in no-deal Brexit July 11, 2019 A no-deal Brexit could cause sterling to crash until it hits parity with the dollar, according to Virgin entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson. Read more: Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit to test satellite launch rocket Branson warned this would be “devastating” for Virgin brands, which cover rail, air travel, financial services and media, and could lead the [...]
Let’s reform our ugly company tax system and start rewarding long-term investors July 11, 2019 There’s an old saying that if you laid all the economists in the world end to end, they still wouldn’t reach a conclusion. But even so, most of them would agree that Britain’s economy doesn’t invest enough. We’re wedded to short-term consumer demand rather than investing in long-term growth like those sensible Germans. And the [...]
Banks can cope with no-deal Brexit but risks remain, says BoE July 11, 2019 The UK financial system is strong enough to cope with a severe global slowdown and a “worst-case” disorderly Brexit simultaneously, the Bank of England has said. Read more: No-deal Brexit fears have increased, Bank of England governor warns Yet it warned that an increasingly likely no-deal scenario posed “material risks of economic disruption” and would [...]
US stock markets hit record highs as Fed chair hints at rate cuts July 10, 2019 Chairman of the US Federal Reserve Jay Powell has boosted the market’s expectations that the first interest rate cut in ten years will come this month with a gloomy testimony to a congressional committee. Read more: Fed holds interest rates but hints at future cuts In a prepared statement Powell said “trade tensions and concerns [...]
Accounting Cashflows and the Quirk of “Factoring” July 10, 2019 | City Talk Creditor factoring delays payments to creditors to fund a company’s operations; often it is used as a last resort to manage liquidity problems.
Germany flogs bonds at fresh record-low yields as demand for safety surges July 10, 2019 Germany has sold medium-term government bonds at new record-low yields and cut interest payouts completely as investors rush to buy safe assets amid a slowing global economy. Read more: Germany and Portugal sell 10-year bonds at lowest ever yields Figures from the German finance ministry show it today sold 10-year Bunds with a yield of [...]
UK economic growth beats expectations but contraction worries remain July 10, 2019 The UK economy expanded by 0.3 per cent in the three months to the end of May, official statistics have shown, beating analysts’ expectations of just 0.1 per cent growth. Read more: UK service sector ‘close to stagnation’ as economy slows The better-than-predicted growth, shown in data released today by the Office for National Statistics [...]
Page Group warns of lower profits amid economic uncertainty July 10, 2019 Recruiter Page Group today warned that global economic uncertainty will hurt profits this year, sending shares 10 per cent lower in early trading. Challenging macro-economic conditions will send 2019 operating profit down to £161.1m, with the company previously hoping to hit as high as £168m. Read more: Page Group CEO takes leave of absence after [...]
Exclusive: UK companies complacent on productivity, survey shows July 10, 2019 Nearly two-fifths of large UK companies called their productivity levels “very concerning” but big firms are investing only 0.25 per cent of their annual turnover to remedy the problem, new research has revealed. Read more: UK productivity drops for third quarter in a row A survey by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) [...]