UK consumers are set for a big hit as inflation spikes this year February 1, 2017 Inflation is set to spike this year with the hit to consumer spending denting UK growth, according to an influential group of economists. Annual growth in the consumer price index will average 3.3 per cent in 2017, according to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr), before slowing to 2.9 per cent next [...]
HMRC lays out plans to scrap yearly tax return and replace it with continuous online reporting January 31, 2017 The annual tax return will be a thing of the past by 2020, according to HMRC – potentially saving the taxman over £8bn per year. Under the government's proposals – part of its Making Tax Digital project – taxpayers will keep the Revenue updated online on a continuous basis, rather than filing a yearly return. [...]
China, Mexico, Japan: Who’s afraid of Trump’s protectionism? January 31, 2017 Anyone hoping that Donald Trump’s campaign promises were just talk can’t have been encouraged by this weekend’s events. Stock markets fell and the dollar was volatile yesterday on the news that the President had signed an executive order banning the entry of people from seven countries. Assumptions that he would row back from his more protectionist [...]
With fresh IMF warnings over Greece’s “unsustainable” debt, is the Eurozone crisis about to heat up again? January 31, 2017 Jennifer McKeown, chief European economist at Capital Economics, says Yes. The IMF’s renewed assertion that Greek public debt is unsustainable is little more than a statement of the obvious. But it suggests that the Fund will not contribute to the bailout as had been hoped, implying that Eurozone creditors will need to foot the bill [...]
New in-depth study finds apprenticeship levy is little more than a stealth tax and could distort training schemes January 31, 2017 The apprenticeship levy, a flagship government scheme intended to boost the training of young people, has been slammed as little more than a stealth tax following a damning new report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) which found it represents “poor value for money”. The levy will apply to all businesses with a payroll [...]
Consumer confidence climbed this month, but signs point to slowing spending in 2017 January 30, 2017 Overall consumer confidence edged up this month, but Britons showed they have less faith in making major purchases, signalling a spending slowdown in the year ahead, a new report suggests. GfK's consumer confidence index, published today, climbed two points to minus five in January. Three of the five measures experienced increases this month, one was unchanged and one decreased. It was the [...]
Higher Germany inflation raises pressure on ECB to tighten monetary policy January 30, 2017 Inflation in Germany rose to just short of the target set by the European Central Bank on price stability, raising pressure further on a historically loose monetary policy stance. Headline inflation rose to 1.9 per cent year-on-year in January, up from 1.7 per cent the month before, according to the German statistics office. Most of [...]
Morale in Europe’s businesses rises to highest since before the Eurozone debt crisis hit in March 2011 January 30, 2017 Confidence in the Eurozone economy has jumped to its highest level since before the debt crisis six years ago ravaged the bloc’s businesses. The European Commission’s economic sentiment indicator rose above economists’ expectations to 108.2, a reading not seen since March 2011. Industry confidence increased markedly, as production expectations grew more optimistic. However, confidence in [...]
Spain’s economy grows faster than the UK in 2016 January 30, 2017 Spain’s economy grew faster than the UK during 2016, as the tentative recovery in one of the countries hardest hit by the Eurozone crisis stabilises further. Growth of 0.7 per cent in the final quarter was enough to push growth in 2016 to 3.2 per cent, according to preliminary estimates from the National Statistics Institute [...]
Enter The Dragon: Why China is snapping up British assets January 30, 2017 What do Heathrow, Thames Water, black cabs, Harvey Nichols and Rio Tinto have in common? They’re all part-owned by Chinese companies. “Britain holds a number of attractions for Chinese investors,” says Simon Bevan, head of the China Britain services group at Grant Thornton UK. “As a country, our language, business culture, rule of law and [...]