US economy set to feast out on super-size food exports September 29, 2016 The US economy is set to come roaring back to life in the second half of the year on the back of a bumper summer food harvest. Figures out this afternoon showed the world's largest economy grew by 1.4 per cent on an annualised basis in the second quarter of the year – a slight upwards [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open September 29, 2016 Oil has given up some of its gains after the first Opec deal to curb supply in eight years sent it higher last night and it's not just Deutsche Bank that's in trouble as Commerzbank announces nearly 10,000 jobs are set to go. Here's what you need to know before the US market open at 2:30pm [...]
Liam Fox has hinted at the end of EU customs union membership, promising the UK will lead the charge for free trade September 29, 2016 One of Theresa May's "Three Brexiteers" has today suggested the UK is set to exit the EU's customs union, vowing the country would lead the charge for free trade. International trade secretary Liam Fox, alongside foreign secretary Boris Johnson and Brexit secretary David Davis, is one of the most Eurosceptics in government, and he made the case for [...]
Bank of England announces latest details of landlord crackdown September 29, 2016 The Bank of England's crackdown on landlords kicked up a notch this morning, with a set of tough new lending restrictions for buy to let mortgages. Threadneedle Street's banking supervision arm, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), has long been concerned with the risks the UK's buy-to-let sector poses to financial stability and has again tightened [...]
France and Germany take Eurozone confidence to eight-month high September 29, 2016 The recovery in the Eurozone might still be on track as confidence jumped to a eight-month high in September. The EU's official economic sentiment indicator (ESI), the broadest measure of optimism among businesses and consumers across the single currency area, rose to 104.9 from a score of 103.5 recorded in August. Economists had expected confidence to flat-line after a string [...]
Brexit negotiations will cost UK £1 per person September 29, 2016 Planning for Brexit is set to cost the government £65m a year and will require at least 500 extra civil servants, a Whitehall-watching think tank has concluded. The Institute for Government (IFG) said "time and energy is being wasted on political squabbles and turf wars", and added politicians had no idea how their departments and the civil [...]
From server rooms to boardrooms: Cyber crime issues must become top priority for UK bosses September 29, 2016 Cyber crime is big business. Attacks can come from opportunists, commercial rivals, terrorist groups, bored teenagers, organised crime and nation states. The goal could be anything from online vandalism to data theft or destabilisation. Faced with such threats, a new industry has emerged promising an array of state-of-the-art systems to keep your data and commercial [...]
Trumponomics is big, bold and brash – but less unorthodox than you might think September 28, 2016 Donald Trump is an undoubted political maverick. But is he an economic maverick too? The answer is yes and no. Yes he’s a maverick on trade policy, arguing for the rejection of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Trump has also called for a 35 [...]
Mario Draghi hits out at German MPs, German banks and ECB naysayers September 28, 2016 Mario Draghi confronted German politicians head on yesterday over their criticism of the European Central Bank (ECB)’s controversial monetary policies. In a speech to the Bundestag, Germany’s parliament, before private meetings with MPs, Draghi also reiterated his calls for Eurozone countries to share the burden of stoking economic growth and insisted negative interest rates were [...]
Exports set for £20bn Brexit boost after sterling’s dramatic plunge September 28, 2016 Goods exports will jump by £20bn over the next year, cushioning the UK economy from a slowdown caused by the EU referendum, Standard and Poor's (S&P) has argued. In a new report assessing the impact of the Brexit vote on the UK and Europe, the ratings agency also stuck by its claims the UK will avoid [...]