The Rainbow Cafe in Cambridge isn’t accepting the new £5 note December 3, 2016 The Bank of England has already said it's asked its supplier to work on "potential solutions" to the issue of animal fat in its new £5 notes. But until then a vegetarian cafe in Cambridge is taking a stand by announcing it won't be accepting said fivers. The BoE confirmed using a trace of animal fat, [...]
US non-farm payroll: US adds 178,000 jobs in November as wages rise and unemployment falls December 2, 2016 US non-farm payroll data has shown that the US added 178,000 jobs in the month that saw Donald Trump win the Presidential election. Market experts had been expecting an increase of 165,000 in November, slightly above the 161,000 reported for October. Unemployment dropped to 4.6 per cent and wages were up 2.5 per cent. The jobs [...]
Oil prices dip but still on track for recovery after Opec deal December 2, 2016 Oil prices fell slightly on Friday morning, but are still set for a strong week. Investors piled into oil futures and related stocks earlier this week when Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (Opec) revealed a deal to cut production by 1.2m barrels a day. Read more: $50 oil saves FTSE 100 from further falls This [...]
It’s not all bad: UK construction output grew more than expected in November December 2, 2016 Output in the UK's construction sector grew faster than expected in November, figures published today showed – suggesting things might not be as bad as they seemed in the sector. Markit's purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the construction sector rose to 52.8 in November, above expectations of 52.2 and above October's figure of 52.6. Any figure [...]
Editor’s notes: The uncertain art of measuring the UK’s economic uncertainty December 2, 2016 You may not have seen it on the News at Ten but Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member Kristin Forbes delivered a fascinating speech last week on the nature of economic uncertainty and how best it can be measured. As Donald Trump said when he delivered his victory speech, “it’s a complicated business, folks”. [...]
How to prepare your portfolio for inflation December 2, 2016 | City Talk Concerns about inflation were already on the rise. Donald Trump’s victory in the US election has further stoked expectations that price pressure, absent in most Western economies since the financial crisis, may make a return in 2017 and beyond. The basics Inflation is a measure of how fast the prices of goods and services are [...]
The ‘75%’ chance that the Santa Rally exists December 2, 2016 | City Talk Stock markets are more likely to rise in December than any other month, according to analysis of nearly three decades of data. The analysis conducted by Schroders, which covers the world’s largest markets, adds to the debate over the existence of the “Santa Rally”, an alleged effect often dismissed by seasoned investors. Our analysis measured two [...]
Donald Trump’s unhappy fate is to oversee a financial crisis far worse than the last December 2, 2016 An earthquake doesn’t care if you’re progressive or populist. It destroys your house all the same. Likewise a financial crisis is indifferent to a politician’s policy mix. Systemic crises proceed according to their own dynamic based on the array of agents in a system, and systemic scale. The tempo of recent crises in 1994, 1998, and [...]
UK immigration reached 650,000, its highest levels ever, in the year before the Brexit vote, but cuts to immigration could harm the public finances December 1, 2016 Immigration to the UK reached 650,000, the highest level estimate ever recorded, in the year before the Brexit vote, but influential economists have warned that attempts to reduce net migration could harm Britain’s public finances and even result in higher taxes. European Union immigration also reached its highest ever level, at 284,000, an increase of [...]
Oil prices hit $50 around the world as Opec’s production cut decision continues to make waves in markets worldwide December 1, 2016 The trading frenzy sparked by Opec’s historic deal on Wednesday to agree a production cut has continued to make its presence felt throughout markets worldwide, with oil-related shares gaining further and futures prices rising beyond the levels seen after the announcement. Prices for both Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded well above $50 per [...]