Institute for Fiscal Studies: UK better off inside EU Single Market August 10, 2016 Leaving the EU Single Market will cost the government an extra £8bn in lost tax receipts and result in financial services firms leaving London, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said. The revered number crunchers have argued today in a new paper that any Brexit deal which does not result in the UK remaining [...]
Challengers lambast competition watchdog’s report for focussing on technology and ignoring red tape issues August 10, 2016 Challenger banks have lambasted the competition watchdog for squandering a rare opportunity for change in a sector dominated by larger players. Many of the UK’s up-and-coming lenders were disappointed that yesterday’s final report from the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) retail banking investigation focused more on using technology to disrupt the sector than on tearing down some of the [...]
Soft Chinese inflation raise spectre of rate cuts August 9, 2016 The prospect of more monetary stimulus in China edged closer today with a soft inflation reading from the world's second largest economy. Price rises, as measured on the consumer price index (CPI), slipped back from 1.9 to 1.8 per cent in July – significantly off the People's Bank of China's (PBOC) three per cent target. Factory [...]
Bank of England suffers bond setback as QE kicks off again August 9, 2016 The Bank of England’s attempt to buy long dated gilts as part of its quantitative easing (QE) programme hit a rough spot today, with the central bank failing to attract enough offers from investors. The Bank's reverse gilt auction was only 96 per cent covered – it had planned to purchase £1.17bn of government bonds with maturities longer than [...]
UK economy contracted in July amid Brexit fallout August 9, 2016 The UK economy contracted in July as the UK was left reeling from the fallout of the vote to leave the European Union, a leading economic think tank has estimated. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) said the UK shrunk by 0.2 per cent during the political turmoil of July. Niesr said the figures confirmed their [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open August 9, 2016 US stocks are nearing record highs and China's inflation grew at its slowest rate in seven months. Here's what you need to know ahead of the US market open at 2:30pm London time. US stock markets are nearing all time highs (the S&P 500 hit an all-time high of 2,185.54 points yesterday, although it pulled [...]
Research shows people live longer during recessions August 9, 2016 A new study has found that mortality rates drop and people live longer during periods of economic hardship. For every one percentage point increase in unemployment, research published today by IZA World of Labour found there is a 0.5 percentage point fall in the number of deaths in developed economies. According to Nick Drydakis, a reader in economics at [...]
EU confirms no fines for Spain and Portugal over budget deficits August 9, 2016 Spain and Portugal will not be fined for breaking the EU's budget rules, it was confirmed today. European leaders have accepted the recommendation to let the countries off with a slap on the wrist, rather than impose a financial penalty which could have been equivalent to 0.2 per cent of GDP. Under the EU's stability and growth pact, members of [...]
Manufacturing sector shrunk in June as industry fears prolonged slowdown August 9, 2016 The UK's manufacturing sector started life after the EU referendum on the back foot, official statistics released this morning have confirmed. The industry shrunk by 0.3 per cent in June, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showing the slowdown started in the days before the UK's historic vote to untangle itself from [...]
UK posts mighty trade deficit in month of EU referendum August 9, 2016 The UK trade deficit ballooned to a huge £5.1bn in June, far ahead of expectations and raising more questions about how the UK's exporters and importers will fare after the referendum. The figures, released this morning by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), also showed imports reached their highest ever level in a single month [...]