OECD finds UK growth will be stable but slow October 10, 2016 The UK will grow at a stable but slower pace for the forseeable future as a result of uncertainty over its future relationship with the European Union, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) declared today. On an index which compiles economic indicators to assess how the world's top economies are performing compared to the recent [...]
Nobel Prize for Economics awarded to Oliver Hart and Bengt Holmstrom for innovations in contract theory October 10, 2016 British professor Oliver Hart is one of the two laureates of this year's Nobel Prize for Economics, which has been awarded for innovation in contracts theory. Hart, who is based at Harvard University, and Finnish Bengt Holmstrom, based at MIT, have created valuable new theoretical tools that have helped to "[understand] real-life contracts and institutions, as [...]
Ire over immigration: Careless policy debates risk damaging Britain October 10, 2016 Sometimes great damage can be caused by a government policy idea that doesn't end up seeing the light of day. Think back to 2013, when the Tory-LibDem coalition announced plans to introduce a visa bond. The idea would have seen arrivals from countries such as India or Nigeria paying a £3,000 bond as part of the [...]
Working 9 to 5? Actually, 14m of us are now independent workers October 10, 2016 As many as 14m people in the UK are classed as an independent worker employed outside the traditional 9 to 5 job, new research reveals. The figures calculated in a new report by McKinsey pegs the number of freelancers, temporary workers, and those selling items on eBay or renting out a room on Airbnb as part of the so-called [...]
After a torrid time for sterling, is the UK economy heading for trouble? October 10, 2016 Andrew Sentance, senior economic adviser to PwC and former member of the Bank of England’s MPC, says Yes. It is not just Brexit which is undermining sterling at present. The UK has a large balance of payments deficit. The government still has a large deficit – and Philip Hammond seems more relaxed than George Osborne about [...]
MPs gear up for fight with Theresa May over Single Market access October 10, 2016 MPs are gearing up for a fight with Theresa May over access to the EU’s Single Market, as the government prepares for a series of legal battles over its right to take Brexit decisions alone. May has come under fire from senior backbenchers and business groups after a Conservative Party conference that saw the Prime Minister suggest [...]
How low can the pound go? All your questions about the flash crash answered October 10, 2016 Currency markets opened yesterday evening after a turbulent end to last week for the pound. Sterling has slowly trundled steadily south since Britain’s decision to leave the EU. But last Friday sterling plummeted by six per cent in just two minutes during the early hours of the morning – it was dubbed a “flash crash”. Read [...]
Flash crash and extreme trading slams sterling October 7, 2016 Sterling has been rocked by an extreme day of trading about a freak flash crash overnight rattled markets and sent investors running. After dropping at least six per cent against the dollar in a matter of minutes, the pressure failed to lift and sterling had its worst week of trading since the referendum. A fresh sell-off had the currency down [...]
Sports Direct to lose £15m in sterling flash crash October 7, 2016 As if Mike Ashley didn't have enough troubles to deal with at the moment. Fresh from his Sports Direct warehouses being likened to a "Victorian warehouse" and a gaffe-ridden open-doors day at the retailer's Shirebrooke factory, the firm has been caught up in the fallout from sterling's flash crash. A trading update from the firm issued [...]
What does the flash crash mean for UK interest rates? October 7, 2016 The flash crash in sterling has sent UK inflation expectations to a three-year high and caused bond yields to spike. Sterling sunk six per cent in a matter of minutes overnight before recovering some, but not all, of its losses. In fact, the pound is still down more than two per cent against the dollar [...]