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 [...]
Theresa May warned lower migration could trigger recession August 25, 2016 The prime minister has been warned cutting migration could push the UK into recession and trigger a prolonged economic slowdown. As new figures are set to show net migration still running at more than three times the government’s “tens of thousands” target, experts lined up to slam Theresa May’s commitment to cut the number of new [...]
Oil major debt climbs to record high as crude prices continue to wallow August 24, 2016 Some of the biggest global oil majors are being weighed down by record levels of debt. Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, BP and Chevron hold a combined net debt of $184bn (£138bn) — more than double their debt levels in 2014, according to analysis by the Wall Street Journal. The drop in the oil price [...]
Sterling on the front foot as Jackson Hole approaches August 24, 2016 Sterling picked up a gear yesterday as the timing of a US interest rate rise was under the spotlight ahead of the annual central bankers’ Jackson Hole meeting. The pound rose to $1.3226, up 0.2 per cent before the gathering in Wyoming kicks off tomorrow evening. Fed chair Janet Yellen could use her speech on [...]
EU wades in to Greek statistician row with bailout threats August 24, 2016 Never far from the headlines, the Greek debt crisis rumbles on. Now, a row in the country over data supplied by its official statistics agency Elstat could risk Athens' current bailout programme. Earlier this month Greece’s Supreme Court ruled the former head of Elstat, Andreas Georgiou, should face trial on charges of artificially inflating Greece’s deficit in 2009 to help foreign creditors secure [...]
The first £10bn: Mark Carney’s quantitative easing lurches on with successful bond purchases August 24, 2016 The Bank of England flexed its muscles in the bond market today, sending prices down and easing the pressure on the scramble for yield. In its final bond-buying mission of the week, the Bank bought £1.17bn worth of medium-term government debt and found more than three times the number of willing sellers as it needed. The successful auction [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open August 24, 2016 It's another scorcher in London and the FTSE 100 is feeling the heat, though European markets are broadly mixed as they digest the Bank of England's latest bond-buying spree. Here's what you need to know before the market open at 2:30pm London time. The S&P is up by 0.8 per cent in the pre-market, while the Nasdaq [...]
Scotland’s deficit remains at £15bn despite huge fall in offshore oil and gas revenue August 24, 2016 The Scottish balance sheet is still looking grim as falling oil prices hit revenues earned from offshore oil and gas, urging First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to double down on the EU. The Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) showed a huge deficit for the nation after a sharp drop from oil and gas revenue. Scottish public sector [...]
Euro edges down as German GDP growth slows in the second quarter August 24, 2016 The German economy slowed in the second quarter, but its budget surplus jumped in good news for Angela Merkel ahead of next year's crucial elections. The euro fell slightly against the dollar, down 0.3 per cent to $1.1276 in early trading, after statistics body Destatis showed growth had fallen to 0.4 per cent, down from 0.7 per cent [...]