The UK is the seventh most competitive economy in the world September 27, 2016 The UK has surged to seventh place in a highly-influential ranking of the world’s most competitive economies. The World Economic Forum (WEF) said the UK had overtaken Hong Kong, Japan and Finland to climb three places in this year’s global competitiveness index, more than reversing last year’s embarrassing fall to 10th place. The WEF hailed [...]
Is Donald Trump right that the US economy is in “a big, fat, ugly bubble”? September 27, 2016 Neil MacKinnon, global macro strategist at VTB Capital, says Yes. US financial markets are in a bubble, courtesy of the Fed’s long-running ultra-easy monetary policy. Equity markets are at record highs and at extreme valuations, even though US corporates are still in a profits recession. Credit markets are exhibiting 2007-style excess leverage and commercial real estate [...]
London’s the best place in the world for fostering fintech as industry eyes new success measures September 27, 2016 London is the best city in the world for fostering fintech, ahead of New York, Silicon Valley and Hong Kong – but it faces a run for its money from Singapore – as the industry pushes for better measures for assessing its contribution to the economy and the government's new industrial strategy. The two cities were ranked highest based [...]
Bank of England’s quantitative easing is making the rich richer claims Osborne September 27, 2016 The UK's monetary policy has made "life difficult for savers" and has helped the rich become richer, former chancellor George Osborne has said. In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Osborne said: “We need to offset the very necessary loose monetary policy and the distributional consequences that is having. Essentially it makes the rich richer and makes [...]
Liam Fox falls short of calling for hard Brexit September 27, 2016 Liam Fox has been accused of overstepping his mark after failing to deliver any significant detail on what trading relationships the UK will pursue outside the European Union. In a speech to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) today, the international trade secretary did not address the issue of whether the UK would seek to leave [...]
Consumer spending eases back after summer splurge September 27, 2016 UK shoppers cut back in September following a summer splurge, though it has not dented the confidence of retailers, a new survey has found. The CBI’s distributive trades survey found 38 per cent of shops said sales volumes were down on September last year, while 30 per cent reported growth. The score of minus eight [...]
US consumer confidence hits nine-year high September 27, 2016 Consumer confidence has hit a nine-year high in the US just six weeks before the country will elect its next President. According to The Conference Board, optimism jumped to 104.1, its highest level since the recession, from 101.8 one month ago, on an index where 100 represents the long-term average. Analysts had expected the index would dip [...]
Oil price sinks after Iran and Saudi Arabia play down prospects of an output freeze September 27, 2016 Oil prices have sunk today as investors scale back their expectations of a deal to curb output between some of the world's biggest suppliers. Rival producers Iran and Saudi Arabia have both poured water on the possibility of a deal being reached to limit oil exports, which have remained at record highs all year. Both [...]
Mums could boost London economy by £16bn with more flexible working September 27, 2016 A lack of flexible work for stay-at-home mums is costing the capital up to £16bn in lost economic activity every year, a new report has found. Over three quarters of stay-at-home mums in London would go back to work if there were more flexible options, according a survey by Digital Mums and the Centre for Economics and [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open September 27, 2016 A rise in US stock futures suggests investors are feeling more confident about a Clinton victory in the US election following the first candidate debate last night. Here's what you need to know before the US open at 2:30pm London time. The S&P is set to rise by 0.27 per cent at the open, while [...]