Muted demand for extra sterling in Bank of England special auction June 14, 2016 UK lenders tapped up the Bank of England for an extra £2.5bn worth of cash in the first of a series of extra liquidity auctions ahead of the EU referendum. Threadneedle Street has added three extra rounds to its monthly bout of asset-swapping with UK banks, where it lets them get their hands on currency reserves [...]
German borrowing cost turn negative for the first ever time as investors rush to safety June 14, 2016 The latest key milestone in the new low interest rate era was breached this morning. After months of precipitous declines, yields on the German 10-year bund turned negative in the first few hours of today's trading, hitting minus 0.03 per cent, before settling at minus 0.02 per cent. That means investors are paying the German government to take [...]
European Court of Justice: UK should not have to pay EU migrants family benefits June 14, 2016 One of Europe's highest courts has backed the UK in a case brought against it over welfare benefits for EU migrants. In a judgment today, the European Court of Justice said the UK's "right to reside" test for certain family benefits was legitimate, after the European Commission brought a case against it arguing that it [...]
Inflation holds steady for another month but economists expect movement after 23 June – whatever the result June 14, 2016 Inflation remained stuck near record lows in May as cheaper clothes, food and entertainment offset the effects of rising fuel costs. Prices went up by 0.3 per cent over the year, as measured on the consumer prices index (CPI), according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) this morning. That was unchanged from [...]
The Fed’s dangerous monetary experiments will continue whoever wins the US election June 14, 2016 The Federal Open Market Committee will be gathering in earnest today, but this hotly-anticipated event now looks like a damp squib after Janet Yellen all but ruled out an immediate rate rise last week. No doubt Fed watchers will revive their usual excitement and frenzy in the coming months, but a potential 0.25 per cent rise [...]
How the Treasury’s dodgy dossiers grossly exaggerated the economic impact of Brexit June 14, 2016 With just over a week to go before Britain votes, the Remain campaign is relying heavily on analysis produced by the Treasury which claims a variety of extremely negative impacts in both the short and the long term from the UK leaving the EU. Having reviewed the two models used by the Treasury, however, it [...]
The Sun backs Brexit, asks its readers to “beLEAVE in Britain” June 13, 2016 In a major blow to Prime Minister David Cameron, The Sun has come out in favour of Brexit in the upcoming EU referendum. The newspaper's front page on Tuesday carries an editorial backing the Leave campaign: “We urge our readers to beLEAVE in Britain and vote to quit the EU on June 23”. The influential [...]
BAE Systems boss warns employees of uncertainty in the UK in stark Brexit warning June 13, 2016 Defence and aerospace group BAE Systems has warned its staff of the risks of Britain leaving the EU. The company's CEO Ian King told employees in a note on the BAE Systems' internal website that Brexit would bring a "period of uncertainty", Sky News has reported. "From early on we have made clear our company view that remaining part of [...]
Brexit concerns prompt market’s fear index to hit highest level in three months June 13, 2016 Wall Street’s CBOE Market Volatility Index (Vix) aka the Fear Index crossed the 19-level for the first time since 10 March thanks to jitters in the global market including Brexit concerns. Vix, a yardstick for measuring fear or volatility in financial markets, added 2.56 points or 15 per cent to 19.59. Factors that affected the index [...]
Seven months after apologising to MPs, HMRC is now boasting of a “significant recovery” in its call-handling services June 13, 2016 HMRC has stressed a dramatic improvement in its call handling processes, with 90 per cent of calls answered, and the average call answered inside of six minutes. Speaking to MPs at the Public Accounts Committee earlier today, HMRC chief executive Jon Thompson, said that the performance represented “a significant recovery”. Last year, HMRC was slammed by a [...]