Chinese officials cautious despite three-year record industrial profits September 27, 2016 China’s industrial firms grew profits at the fastest rate in three years during August. Profits for the month in the world’s second-largest economy grew by 19.5 per cent to 535bn yuan (£62m) according to data released by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) – the best monthly growth since August 2013. Read more: China sees [...]
As a beleaguered Deutsche Bank faces a $14bn fine, Angela Merkel has ruled out state aid, but could a bailout be on the cards? September 27, 2016 Recent discussion of possible European bank bailouts has focused on Italy. Saddled with €360bn of souring loans and enfeebled by a stagnant, over-regulated economy, a number of Italian lenders face a very real risk of insolvency. In July, the country’s third largest, Monte dei Paschi di Siena, failed a stress test set by the European Central [...]
Investors turn bearish on global business cycle amid uncertainty September 27, 2016 Rising uncertainty has led to investors feeling less confident about the global business cycle. Those expecting global equities to rise has dropped to under half (47 per cent), down from 70 per cent just under two years ago, according to the latest Absolute Strategy Research (ASR) survey. Respondents think there is a 41 per cent [...]
Fears over hard Brexit send sterling to a five-week low against the euro September 26, 2016 Rising fears that the UK is heading for a so-called hard Brexit has driven the pound to five-week lows against the euro. Sterling dropped to its lowest level since 16 August against the euro, and also slid against the dollar. The government's stance on Brexit has appeared to be hardening recent, sparking fears in the [...]
Is China’s toxic debt pile the greatest threat the global economy faces? September 26, 2016 Mike Jakeman, global analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, says Yes. The Chinese government has already performed one economic miracle – in the 30 years from 1980, it pulled almost 700m people out of extreme poverty. Now it requires another – to wean its fattened economy off a diet of public investment and onto helpings of household [...]
International trade secretary Liam Fox’s steer towards hard Brexit has got the City worried – here’s why September 25, 2016 The government's stance on Brexit appears to be hardening, with international trade secretary Liam Fox set to advocate that the UK pushes ahead and becomes an independent member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). This would set the UK on a path to leave the EU’s customs union, an area that allows the free movement of goods [...]
Economists are expecting more positive data on consumer confidence this week as shoppers shrug off the Brexit vote September 25, 2016 Consumers' worries about the economic impact of the Brexit vote are fading, as economists are expecting positive data on sentiment to be released this week. Confidence in the UK economy slumped immediately after the EU referendum, but now economists are expecting an uptick. Read more: West End gets Brexit boost as sales to tip over [...]
Boris Johnson hints Article 50 should be invoked before May 2017 September 25, 2016 Foreign secretary Boris Johnson has indicated Article 50, the official signal for Britain leaving the EU, should be triggered before May next year to avoid Britain having to participate in European elections and send new MEPs to Brussels. Britain is due to participate in electing candidates to the European parliament in elections set for May 2019, but [...]
Taking stock: 12 charts showing the first three months of Brexit in the financial markets September 23, 2016 Three months ago today, the UK voted to leave the European Union. Against the judgement of most experts, our own Prime Minister, the President of the United States, think tanks and international institutions that were warning of economic calamity, the Brits decided to quit. The financial markets went into turmoil. The pound collapsed, the FTSE 100 [...]
Boris Johnson’s Article 50 comments send sterling sliding September 23, 2016 Sterling has drifted against the euro and the dollar today, as currency analysts blamed foreign secretary Boris Johnson for spilling the beans on the government's latest Brexit plans. The pound was down 0.9 per cent against the US dollar at $1.2961 at lunchtime, below the crucial $1.30 mark which the currency has settled around in recent weeks. [...]