As recession fears fade following strong services PMIs, was the Bank of England wrong to cut interest rates post-Brexit? September 5, 2016 Andrew Sentance, senior economic adviser to PwC and a former member of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee, says Yes. Very low interest rates have been with us since 2009, but the Bank of England’s latest stimulus package has had a dramatic impact on long-term investment returns. Twenty-year UK government bond yields are now just over 1 [...]
Extension of quantitative easing “close call” for ECB September 5, 2016 The European Central Bank (ECB) faces a tough decision this week as it decides whether to unleash a new bout of monetary stimulus to support the Eurozone. ECB ratesetters will gather in Frankfurt on Thursday, with markets divided as to when president Mario Draghi will announce a hotly-anticipated extension to the Bank's €80bn (£67bn) a month [...]
Bank of Japan paves the way for more monetary stimulus September 5, 2016 Bank of Japan (BoJ) chief Haruhiko Kuroda has insisted he has plenty of ammunition left to fire up the Japanese economy in a robust defence of the Bank's twin policies of negative interest rates and quantitative easing. In a defiant speech early this morning, Kuroda said the BoJ had "ample room for more monetary policy easing", insisted "new ideas should [...]
New car sales accelerated in August as the fleet sector stayed strong September 5, 2016 The UK's car buyers went haywire for hatchbacks and crazy for convertibles last month, figures published today have shown. The report, by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), showed new car registrations rose 3.3 per cent year on year in August – up from a measly 0.1 per cent rise in July. Some [...]
Pound bounces as services sector storms back to growth in August September 5, 2016 The pound jumped against the dollar in early trading in London after new figures showed the UK's most dominant sector stormed back into growth in August. Markit's purchasing managers' index for the UK services sector hit 52.9 in August, against expectations of 50.0, and up from July's 89-month low of 47.4. Considering any figure below 50 suggests [...]
The chancellor’s fiscal reset is a golden opportunity to slash living costs through tax cuts and planning reform September 5, 2016 Philip Hammond recently said that he may use the Autumn Statement to “reset” fiscal policy. That is a welcome sentiment because it suggests the chancellor sees before him a golden opportunity to transform the tax system. With Parliament returning, we are likely to see the government start to formulate and publicise more detailed economic policy [...]
London job openings at lowest level since January after Brexit vote September 4, 2016 The London jobs market could be showing signs of a post-referendum slowdown, according to a tracker of nationwide job vacancies. While the number of vacancies was up by 7.7 per cent in August compared to last year, online recruitment firm Reed.co.uk found London was being dragged down by a crunch in the number of high-paying [...]
Eyes on the PMI as services and sterling in the spotlight September 4, 2016 Sterling could be set for a bumpy day of trading tomorrow as the closely-watched services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) is set to provide another clue to the health of the post-referendum economy. Analysts expect the industry, which accounts for the vast majority of the UK economy, to bounce back above the crucial no-change 50-mark on the PMI. [...]
Japan’s issued 18 demands for Brexit or businesses could leave for EU September 4, 2016 Japanese businesses have issued an astonishing list of demands it wants from the UK and Europe ahead of Brexit negotiations at the G20 Summit, where Prime Minister Theresa May is starting informal trade talks. The 18 requests covering trade ties between the countries were made in a 15 page report issued by the Japanese government on [...]
Back of the queue? Barack Obama warns of UK-US trade “unravelling” September 4, 2016 US President Barack Obama has praised the special relationship between the UK and the US, but warned that both countries needed to do everything they could to prevent those strong ties from "unravelling" as he indicated other major global trade agreements are a priority. Speaking at the G20 Summit, Obama said the priority was to complete [...]