One more measure of consumer confidence has come roaring back August 26, 2016 A leading measure of consumer confidence has surged by its fastest rate in more than three years as fears of a post-referendum economic collapse peter out. The YouGov/Centre of Economics and Business Research (CEBR) tracker, out today, climbed from 106.6 in July to 109.8 in August, on an index where scores above 100 indicate optimism among the [...]
US Presidential Election 2016: Fears creeping into US economy as service sector stumbles August 25, 2016 The US services industry is growing at its slowest pace in six months, as uncertainty ahead of November's presidential election is beginning to hamper the world's largest economy. Markit's purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the sector came in at 50.9 in August, down from a score of 51.4 in July and hovering perilously close to [...]
S&P claims quantitative easing is a programme for the many, not the few August 25, 2016 Standard and Poor's (S&P) has downplayed the role quantitative easing has in fuelling income inequality in a new report published to coincide with the annual central bankers' bash in Jackson Hole. In an investigation into whether the US Federal Reserve should consider the impact its policies have on widening the gap between the richest and the poorest, [...]
Deutsche Bank has a few ideas for Theresa May’s new industrial strategy August 25, 2016 One of the world's top investment banks has called on Theresa May to embrace a new industrial strategy and help revive British manufacturing to its former glory. Chief economists at Deutsche Bank have put together a dossier for the new Prime Minister on how she can make the most of the post-referendum opportunities, to pull [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open August 25, 2016 Jackson Hole – the annual US economic symposium – is now underway with market watchers keenly awaiting clues on a September Fed rate hike. Here's what you need to know before the US market open at 2:30pm London time. US markets are not looking perky ahead in the pre-market. The S&P is off by 0.24 [...]
German and French economies enter summer slump August 25, 2016 The powerhouses of the Eurozone could be languishing in a summer slump, figures out today have hinted. Measures of business confidence in both Germany and France missed expectations this morning, denting prospects for either economy to bounce back from a growth slowdown in the run-up to the UK's EU referendum. The closely-watched Ifo survey of [...]
Latest CBI retail survey another sign of post-referendum resilience August 25, 2016 A new survey from the CBI has shown retail sales smashed expectations in August and shopkeepers expect the good news to keep on coming, in yet more evidence UK consumers are shrugging off Brexit fears and splashing the cash this summer. The number of retailers saying volumes were better this month than they were last year stood [...]
May under pressure to ditch target as net migration still above 300,000 August 25, 2016 Theresa May has come under fresh pressure to scrap her target to cut migration as the latest figures showed net migration is still running at more than three times the government's official "tens of thousands" target In the year to March 2016, net migration – the difference between the number of arrivals and departures – came in at 327,000 [...]
The Spanish economy keeps growing as investment and household spending strengthen August 25, 2016 The Spanish economy grew by a faster rate than expected in the second quarter of this year, driven by increased investment and an uptick in household spending. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.8 per cent, up 0.1 percentage points from initial estimates. This is the same rate of growth Spain has seen in each quarter over [...]
School reform’s biggest winners are the poor August 25, 2016 At the height of the last government, an online petition was launched calling for the then education secretary to resign. “Remove the elitist Michael Gove from office” it screamed. “Gove who has experienced private school education and Oxbridge is completely out of touch”. Like so much cyber activism, it was nonsense. For as today’s GCSE results [...]