Brits flash the plastic despite EU vote fears August 8, 2016 Card spending in the UK climbed in July as consumers flocked to hotels, bars, and restaurants. The latest Visa spending index was up from 0.9 per cent year-on-year in June to 1.6 per cent in July. However this was weaker than the rate of increase seen at the beginning of the year. The hospitality industry drove [...]
London businesses hardest hit in latest PMI figures as employment falls August 8, 2016 London businesses were harder hit after the EU referendum result than those in any other UK regions, a newly released index has revealed. The Lloyds Bank Regional Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) also found employment in the capital fell in July, ending a 38-month period of expansion. “The local economy felt a significant downturn following the EU [...]
The number of people visiting France has fallen August 7, 2016 The number of people visiting France from abroad has fallen in the wake of terrorist attacks in the country. Tourism minister Matthias Fekl said the number of foreign visitors has declined by 10 per cent in the first six months of the year, compared to the same time last year, and that trend continued into July. The capital [...]
Why slashed interest rates could provide another M&A boost after Brexit August 5, 2016 UK deal activity could be boosted by the Bank of England’s interest rates cut, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) experts have suggested. As well as cutting interest rates from 0.5 to 0.25 per cent on Thursday, the Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) also unleashed an extension of quantitative easing which could pump an extra £170bn of newly-printed [...]
Bumper US jobs report sends S&P 500 to record high and brings rate rise into view August 5, 2016 The US economy added 255,000 jobs in July in the second blockbuster month for employment, raising the prospect of an interest rate rise and sending the S&P 500 to a new record high. Official non-farm payroll data published this afternoon also showed average wages grew by 2.6 per cent on an annualised basis, the same rate in June, but [...]
Profitability hits record low for UK’s offshore oil and gas industry August 5, 2016 The UK's oil and gas sector was the least profitable quarter for two decades at the start of the year, figures out this morning have revealed. The Office for National Statistics (ONS), said profitability among the UK's "continental shelf" companies – mainly off-shore exploration firms – plunged to 0.2 per cent in the first quarter. [...]
Should Philip Hammond call an early Autumn Statement? August 5, 2016 The mighty economic salvo unleashed by the Bank of England yesterday has heaped pressure onto the government to pull its weight in supporting the UK economy in the wake of the Brexit vote. Mark Carney, George Osborne, the Labour Party and a host of analysts and businesses called on the chancellor Philip Hammond to step up [...]
Carney’s Brexit bonanza sends FTSE 100 to a 12-month high August 5, 2016 Stock markets have hit their highest levels of the year on the back of the massive stimulus programme unveiled by the Bank of England yesterday. The FTSE 100 surged 0.6 per cent at the open, adding to a 100-point gain yesterday to stand at 6,780 in mid-morning trading. That took the index to a 12-month high, [...]
Recruiters say UK jobs have been in “freefall” since the Brexit vote August 5, 2016 The number of people in permanent work fell by its sharpest amount since the recession in July, it was revealed this morning. Pay rises have also ground to a halt and even the rise of temporary workers stuttered in the first full month after the referendum, the latest report on jobs from Markit and the [...]
Bank rate cut: Property investment crowned winner while savers lose out August 5, 2016 The Bank of England launched a massive stimulus package yesterday in a bid to save Britain from recession. The Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) voted unanimously to slash interest rates to an all-time low of 0.25 per cent. Take a look at the winners and losers of the rate cut: WINNER: Property investment The cut to interest rates is [...]