Bank of England fears a public backlash on mortgage controls February 3, 2015 The Bank of England must educate the public on its new powers over mortgage lending or risk harm to its reputation, top official Donald Kohn told MPs yesterday. Officials can limit loan to income ratios and debt to income ratios if they fear the housing market is becoming a risk to financial stability. But that [...]
Greece-Eurozone standoff presents “greatest risk to economy” George Osborne warns as Yanis Varoufakis visits London February 2, 2015 The standoff between Greece and the Eurozone presents the greatest risk to the global economy, chancellor George Osborne has said. Osborne, who met Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis in London today, said both sides needed to consider how they worked in future, or risk derailing growth, both globally and specifically within the UK. Varoufakis [...]
UK economy starts 2015 in good health as rate setters meet – London Report February 1, 2015 CONSTRUCTION, manufacturing and services figures for January, due out this week, are expected to show a healthy economic start for the UK in 2015. Analysts expect all the numbers, based on purchasing managers’ surveys, to be up on December’s. The Bank of England is due to meet this week to set interest rates, with no [...]
Rouble plummets against the dollar as Russian central bank makes shock cut to interest rates January 30, 2015 Russia's central bank has made a shock two percentage point cut to its benchmark rates of, lowering it to 15 per cent, which caused the rouble to plummet against the dollar, The currency slumped 1.2 per cent, sending it past the 70 per dollar mark. It's the first time it has slipped past that since December's [...]
Deflation has arrived in Germany: Inflation rate falls to -0.5 per cent in January January 29, 2015 Germany has slipped into deflation for the first time since the global financial crisis, supporting the European Central bank's recent decision to unleash its biggest "bazooka" on the ailing Eurozone. Consumer prices fell -0.5 per cent on an annual basis in January, according to flash estimates from Germany's statistics office. This meant they had fallen [...]
Russia to launch £22bn economy rescue package January 28, 2015 RUSSIA is to commit 2.3 trillion roubles (£22bn) to a plan to support its sanction-hit economy. It comes just days after its debt was downgraded to a “junk” rating by Standard and Poor’s ratings agency. The government also plans to set up a bad bank to take on troublesome loans from the banking sector. The [...]
Bank of England chief economist Andrew Haldane: There’s “no rush” to raise interest rates January 28, 2015 The Bank of England is in "no rush" to raise interest rates, and eventual increases will be by small increments, according to the central bank's chief economist Andy Haldane. "We are in no rush to raise rates, the recovery is taking hold nicely," Haldane told the Daily Post. "The last thing we want to do is [...]
In pictures: Stunning images show the hidden world of workers at the front line of Britain’s night-time economy January 28, 2015 When Dolly Parton sang about the drudgery of Nine to Five, she probably hadn't taken into consideration that things could be much worse. While most of us spend our days slaving away at our desks, an estimated seven million people clock on at 6pm and work through the night. What does this "hidden" economy look [...]
Low interest rates and less tax to fuel home demand January 27, 2015 The mortgage market saw a slowdown at the end of 2014 but is expected to stage a rebound this year. The number of house purchase approvals was nine per cent higher in 2014 compared to 2013, according to figures released yesterday by the British Bankers’ Association (BBA). However, the value of mortgages for house purchase [...]
Strong US dollar hurts sales at consumer giant January 27, 2015 THE SURGING strength of the US dollar has taken its toll on Procter and Gamble (P&G) with revenue falling four per cent to $20.2bn (£13.3bn) in the three months ending 31 December, compared to the year before. The decline in revenue saw the company suffer a 31 per cent fall in net earnings to $2.3bn [...]