Brexit stockpiling helps UK economy grow 1.8 per cent in early 2019 June 28, 2019 Brexit stockpiling gave a 1.8 per cent boost to the UK economy in the first quarter of 2019 compared to the same quarter last year, figures confirmed today. UK GDP rose 1.8 per cent in January to March compared to its corresponding 2018 quarter. That figure beat the 1.4 per cent quarterly growth between October [...]
US and China ‘agree tentative trade truce’ ahead of G20 summit June 27, 2019 China and the US have reportedly agreed to a tentative truce in their ongoing trade war, two days before crucial talks at the G20 summit this weekend. Details of the agreement, which would scrap plans for a further round of US tariffs on an additional $300bn (£236bn) of Chinese goods, will be laid out in [...]
UK economic growth expected to slow as Brexit and global tensions bite June 27, 2019 The UK’s economic growth is expected to slow as prolonged uncertainty over Brexit and global headwinds take their toll. Audit firm KPMG said today it expects the UK’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth to reach 1.4 per cent in 2019, falling to 1.3 per cent in 2020 – down 0.2 per cent since its last [...]
Carney warns that Woodford-style funds are ‘built on a lie’ June 26, 2019 The governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney blasted funds like Neil Woodford’s today which he said were “built on a lie”. Woodford’s flagship £3.7bn Equity Income Fund was frozen earlier this month after it was hit by a wave of withdrawals it could not meet. Carney told MPs on the Treasury Committee that [...]
Tragedy awaits if we don’t bridge the gap between beliefs and reality in the NHS June 26, 2019 A tragic story over the weekend revealed how a man who died of lung cancer was failed abysmally by the NHS. Two separate sets of doctors omitted to tell him for over a year that he had the disease. The added poignancy of the news item was that the victim was a relative of Nye [...]
UK retail sales see biggest drop for 10 years in June June 25, 2019 UK retail sales fell at the fastest pace in over 10 years this month, according to a survey released today, due in part to the warm weather and football world cup last June. Read more: Pound falls as UK economy shrinks by 0.4 per cent in April Nonetheless, the closely-watched survey from the Confederation of [...]
Large UK firms lagging behind on technology adoption, warn CBI and Oracle June 25, 2019 Large UK companies are adding to the country’s productivity crisis by failing to adopt new technologies which could boost their output, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and US computer firm Oracle have said. Read more: UK employers warn of mass job losses in digital revolution If just one in 100 business adopted a new [...]
Trump says Federal Reserve ‘doesn’t know what it is doing’ June 24, 2019 US President Donald Trump has once again attacked his country’s central bank, saying on Twitter that the Federal Reserve “doesn’t know what it is doing”. Read more: Trump says he could demote Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell Trump’s tweets come a week after the Fed opted to hold interest rates between 2.25 and 2.50 per [...]
Consumer spending to outperform economy as a whole but challenges lie ahead June 24, 2019 Consumer spending is forecasted to outperform the economy as a whole in the next year, but growth in households’ real disposable income is set to slow down after a spike in 2018. The EY ITEM Club has predicted that consumer spending will rise 1.6 per cent in 2019 and 1.7 per cent in 2020, falling [...]
German business confidence hits lowest level since 2014 June 24, 2019 German company managers were at their most pessimistic about the economy since the end of 2014 in June, according to the country’s Ifo Institute think tank. Read more: German think tank says receding manufacturing sector damaging growth Meanwhile managers’ views of business prospects in the next half year fell for the third straight month, Ifo’s [...]