Pound storms to two-month high against dollar after shock fall in key US indicator September 6, 2016 The pound has surged to a new two-month high against the dollar after a crucial indicator of activity in the US economy crashed, raising yet more question marks over the timing of the next interest rate rise. The closely-watched Institute for Supply Management (ISM) non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) dropped from 55.5 in July to 51.4 [...]
Retail sales sunk back in August in a “U-turn” of fortunes for the sector September 6, 2016 Retail sales slowed in August, representing a "U-turn in retail fortunes" compared to figures from July. Overall sales fell by 0.3 per cent – the biggest month-on-month decline since September 2014, according to data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG. Like-for-like sales were down 0.9 per cent as compared to August last year; on [...]
US Presidential Election 2016: Donald Trump blasts US Federal Reserve for creating a “false economy” September 5, 2016 Donald Trump has hit out at the US Federal Reserve, saying the era of record low interest rates since the financial crisis has created a "false economy". On the campaign trail in the key swing state of Ohio, the Republican presidential nominee waded, once again, into the thorny issue of monetary policy, stating the Fed would [...]
The two Morgans now believe the UK will avoid a Brexit recession September 5, 2016 The UK was given another shot in the arm today, as two leading investment banks hiked their forecasts for economic growth. After suffering its sharpest fall since the financial crisis in the wake of the referendum, the services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) soared from 47.4 to 52.9 in August, smashing expectations on the index where [...]
Ratings agency Standard and Poor’s to judge firms on climate change credentials September 5, 2016 Ratings agency Standard and Poor's (S&P) is gearing up to launch a new set of financial tools to allow investors to monitor the impact of their green investments and check how environmentally friendly big firms are. S&P has today unveiled plans for a "green bond evaluation tool … to analyse and estimate the environmental impact of [...]
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 [...]