Eurozone trade surplus grows in sign of recovery for struggling area May 16, 2019 The Eurozone achieved a better-than-expected trade in goods surplus in March, official statistics revealed today, in the latest sign of economic recovery on the continent. Read more: Global stocks reverse falls after reports Trump will delay auto tariffs Meanwhile the European Union’s trade in goods deficit with China grew and its surplus with the US [...]
UK remortgaging rate jumps as owners cash in on low interest rates May 16, 2019 The number of people remortgaging their homes with additional borrowing spiked in March, according to data released today, as people took advantage of favourable interest rates. Read more: Experts warn of 'bumpy ride' for UK house prices Meanwhile the number of new loans to both movers and first time buyers fell in March year-on-year, figures from [...]
London businesses ‘unaware’ of improvements to apprenticeship levy May 16, 2019 Only a quarter of London businesses are aware of the improvements to the apprenticeship levy that were announced in the Spring Statement, new research shows. In March the government announced that from April employers would see the co-investment rate the pay for apprentices cut from 10 per cent to five per cent. Read more: Apprenticeship [...]
The two main advocates of nationalisation without market value compensation: Venezuela and Corbyn’s Labour Party May 15, 2019 Labour's shadow chancellor can be quite charming when he wants to be. He can also be quite thuggish, and has yet to apologise for his comments about “lynching” former Tory minister Esther McVey. But it was charming John who spoke to an audience of CEOs earlier this week, during which he was asked by one [...]
US stocks fall as industrial sector contracts for third time in four months May 15, 2019 US industrial production unexpectedly fell for the third time in four months in news that will displease the Trump administration as it wages a trade war on China. Read more: European markets back in red following weak Chinese data Industrial production fell 0.5 percent in April, meaning output declined at an annual rate of 1.9 per [...]
European growth aided by UK expansion and German bounce-back May 15, 2019 Growth in the Eurozone and European Union picked up in the first quarter of the year after a rough patch, with the UK showing solid expansion, the EU’s official statistics body confirmed today. Read more: Euro rises as Eurozone economy shows stronger-than-expected growth GDP growth in the EU rose to 0.5 per cent quarter-on-quarter, after growing [...]
Business risks ‘Corbygeddon’ if it doesn’t learn to speak up May 15, 2019 The headline in the Sunday Times was stark: “Rich prepare to flee Corbyn’s Britain as Tories desert PM”. The country’s millionaires and billionaires were, according to the compilers of the paper’s annual rich list, preparing for “Corbygeddon” – the prospect of a hard-left Labour government making an irreparable dent in both their own finances and the [...]
From ticket prices to stellar salaries, you can’t take the economics out of football May 15, 2019 The appearance of Liverpool and Spurs in the Champions League final and Arsenal and Chelsea in the Europa Cup one has generated massive interest. But the official ticket prices for the games are surprisingly reasonable. Liverpool and Spurs have been offered 16,613 tickets each. Five per cent of these are expensive, at £513 each. A further [...]
UK wages rise again as employment rate stays at record high says Office for National Statistics May 14, 2019 UK wages rose 3.2 per cent in the year to March, slightly down from a 3.5 per cent rise in the month before, data showed today as the unemployment rate hit an almost 45-year low. Read more: UK inflation rate holds steady sending Britons' real wages higher Average weekly earnings climbed 1.3 per cent year [...]
India’s economic reform needs a little more authoritarianism May 14, 2019 With the world’s largest General Election now fully underway, more and more people are expressing concern of a national impasse in India: a crossroads in terms of social, economic, and perhaps even constitutional identity. Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, questions around India’s economic potential have become inextricably linked to issues [...]