What a summer: George Osborne’s epic fall from high office September 15, 2016 At the end of July, former Chancellor George Osborne delivered the annual Margaret Thatcher memorial lecture. Her legacy is mighty. What would his be? As he attempted to define it in front of a City audience in the magnificent Guildhall, he concluded that he had “much more to contribute to our nation's discussions in the [...]
Shadow MPC calls on Mark Carney to wait before pulling the trigger on another rate cut September 14, 2016 City economists have told Mark Carney to keep interest rates glued at their record low when the Bank of England meets today. City A.M.’s Shadow monetary policy committee (MPC) voted eight-to-one in favour of holding rates at 0.25 per cent, as experts said the governor and his fellow rate-setters should wait for more signs of [...]
US Presidential Election 2016: Would a Donald Trump presidency lead to a stronger US dollar? September 14, 2016 Currency analysts have suggested a Donald Trump presidency could cause the US dollar to strengthen. A Trump victory in November's election is expected to spook investors around the world, leading to an exodus from emerging markets and into safer assets, such as the US dollar and Japanese yen, analysts at Societe Generale and Nordic bank SEB. [...]
The chancellor faces four daunting tasks in preparing his Autumn Statement September 14, 2016 Say your prayers for the chancellor of the exchequer. Most people think David Davis and Liam Fox have a tough enough job over the coming months, but Philip Hammond also faces a daunting challenge. Consider some of the questions in his in-tray: Question One: Is the UK economy slowing down? The received wisdom is that [...]
Greek debt crisis: Fresh drama looms as cabinet minister attacks International Monetary Fund September 14, 2016 Greece has struck out at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the ongoing argument over the country's debt crisis continues to simmer. The country's employment minister, George Katrougalos, warned the Fund today it would no longer tolerate its "extreme" calls for reforms to the minimum wage, pensions and collective bargaining rules. The IMF is one leg of the [...]
Germany leads the Eurozone manufacturers in prolonged summer slump September 14, 2016 The Eurozone economy faded over the summer, as industrial production slipped and the single currency bloc is still fighting for growth. Industrial production dropped by 1.1 per cent in August, worse than expectations and down from a 0.8 per cent jump in July. Output in Germany, whose car makers started their summer shutdown a little earlier than [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open September 14, 2016 US seeds company Monsanto has accepted a takeover offer from German chemicals company Bayer, marking the biggest deal of 2016. Meanwhile, stocks are floating on a sea of green. Here's what you need to know before the US market open at 2:30pm London time. US stocks are pointing higher in the pre-market. The S&P is up by 0.2 per [...]
Labour market shows no sign of Brexit uncertainty – yet September 14, 2016 The number of people in work hit a new record high in July, as economy-watchers were left waiting even longer for signs of a post-referendum slowdown. Figures out from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) yesterday morning showed the unemployment rate steady at 4.9 per cent, defying concerns that the jobs market could have faltered in [...]
Wage growth has fallen – but employment has hit its highest since records began September 14, 2016 Wage growth edged down in the three months to the end of July, official figures today suggested – but there was a silver lining, as the number of people in employment hit its highest since records began in the early 1970s. The figures, from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), showed average weekly earnings including bonuses increased [...]
Former Boris Johnson economic adviser condemns economists’ Brexit consensus – but backs Bank of England and Mark Carney September 13, 2016 Boris Johnson’s former chief economic adviser says recent economic data proves that most economists were wrong about Brexit. Gerard Lyons, who like the former London mayor backed the Brexit campaign, said this was part of a “long tradition”, pointing to experts’ failure to predict the financial crisis. However, in an interview with City A.M., Lyons [...]