Bank of England Brexit rate cut had little effect on UK’s surprise growth says former deputy governor March 1, 2017 The Bank of England’s (BoE) actions to cut interest rates after the referendum had little effect on the UK's powerful economic growth, according to its former deputy governor. Sir Charlie Bean said: “It may have some small effect at the margin but I really don’t take the view that the policy package that was announced [...]
Keep calm and carry on: Deutsche Boerse boss confident about future as an independent company March 1, 2017 Deutsche Boerse will keep calm and carry on following speculation that its planned £21bn merger with the London Stock Exchange could be called off, the German Group's chief executive has said. "We feel very well prepared as a company for the future," Carsten Kengeter said today. On Sunday night the LSE revealed it was is dispute with [...]
It’s pure rubbish to claim a low tax, low regulation Britain would be a disaster March 1, 2017 Dame Minouche Shafik, deputy governor of the Bank of England, is leaving to become director of the London School of Economics. Last weekend, she gave her final interview wearing her Bank hat. Shafik issued what was described in the media as a “thinly-veiled warning” to the chancellor Philip Hammond. She stated that it was an [...]
Don’t fear a jobs apocalypse: The UK economy is already adapting well to automation March 1, 2017 The Hollywood vision of a jobless, authoritarian future has the super-rich minority living forever and the rest of the population in dangerous poverty, not able to do anything of interest or value. Possibly in response to this, we regularly hear scare stories from some politicians (for example Nick Clegg in the Evening Standard earlier this [...]
Britons taking the day off work cost the economy £18bn every year March 1, 2017 People taking days off work cost the UK economy billions every year, with the toll to rise considerably over the next decade, a new study has found. Absences from work account for £18bn in lost productivity every year, according to the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR) – a figure which could swell to £26bn [...]
India’s economy defies banknote chaos to grow by seven per cent February 28, 2017 The Indian economy defied economists’ expectations at the end of the year by avoiding a big slowdown after demonetisation. India’s GDP grew by an annual rate of seven per cent in the last quarter of 2016, according to the government’s statistics authority. That represented a slowdown in the previous quarter, when the growth rate hit [...]
Transitional arrangements after Brexit could take 18 months or more, says Charlotte Hogg, the new Bank of England deputy governor February 28, 2017 The Bank of England (BoE)'s new deputy governor Charlotte Hogg today said UK banks will need 12 to 18 months at least to make transitional arrangements after certainty on Brexit negotiations is reached. Appearing before the Treasury Select Committee, Hogg said banks will need additional time after the two-year negotiations are reached to change their business models in terms [...]
Why it matters if the public has lost faith in government economic forecasts post-Brexit February 28, 2017 As chancellor Philip Hammond and US President Donald Trump begin work on their respective budgets, speculation is rife about changes to spending plans and taxes. Will there be significant infrastructure investment? How fast will government spending be cut, if at all? Underpinning all these decisions lies a modelling assumption with arguably much more significance than any [...]
Mixed data for the US economy as investors hold their breath for landmark Donald Trump speech February 27, 2017 Important indicators in the US economy showed a mixed picture as investors await a landmark speech by President Donald Trump. Trump will address the US Congress on 9pm GMT on Tuesday evening. He is expected to deliver some long-awaited detail on his economic policies, including campaign promises of up to $1 trillion (£800bn) in infrastructure [...]
Businesses place trust in UK economy as consumers brace for inflation February 27, 2017 Businesses remain confident in the UK economy’s prospects despite consumers bracing for the impact of inflation, according to a long-running survey by the European Commission (EC). Confidence in the economy “markedly improved” to a 14-month high across industry and consumers, according to the survey, but expectations of rising inflation reached their highest point since January [...]