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 [...]
No change in interest rates expected by economists ahead of Superthursday January 30, 2017 The Bank of England is set to keep its interest rate at 0.25 per cent this week, economists predict, despite forecasts that inflation is creeping up. The bank's monetary policy committee (MPC) meets ahead of publishing its latest rates decision this Thursday. On the same day, the bank will publish its quarterly inflation report, making [...]
Putin isn’t dangerous because Russia is strong – but because it’s so weak January 30, 2017 “Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking.” – L Frank Baum, The Wizard of Oz As a child, I remember being fascinated by the populist allegory The Wizard of Oz. My favourite part of the story – sure to cause me to burst out laughing even when I knew what was coming [...]
Embrace simple taxes and openness to trade to make a long-term success of Brexit January 30, 2017 At her Lancaster House speech this month, Theresa May was good to her word. She set out her 12-point negotiating position for leaving the EU and it was explicit that Brexit does, in fact, mean Brexit. The lady is clearly not for turning. And if the Lancaster House speech was about withdrawing from the current [...]
How 1.5 per cent of UK businesses created 780,000 jobs last year January 30, 2017 Medium-sized British businesses created 780,000 jobs in 2016 and increased profits by 19 per cent, according to new figures released by accountants BDO in a report into the sector’s growth prospects. The increase was a striking improvement on annual profit growth between 2011 and 2015, which averaged less than one per cent a year while [...]
European industry fears being left behind without investment in innovation January 27, 2017 European industrialists have called for a big increase in efforts to boost innovation as they fear a rise in protectionism and trade restrictions damaging the EU’s economy. The rise in protectionism, most potently symbolised by the rise of Donald Trump as US President, has alarmed business leaders in the European Round Table of Industrialists. Kurt [...]