The Eurozone economy heats up to pre-debt-crisis levels as German manufacturing drives growth February 21, 2017 The Eurozone economy has showed signs of heating up, with German manufacturing expanding at the fastest pace since 2011 before a sovereign debt crisis swept through the region, according to a survey closely followed by monetary policymakers. Across the Eurozone the expansion of industry reached an almost six-year high, according to the composite purchasing managers' index [...]
The case for an infrastructure spending splurge rests on shaky foundations February 21, 2017 As the chancellor prepares his Budget and US President Donald Trump shapes his economic plan, commentators are urging both to engage in significant new spending on transport infrastructure. The conventional case was articulated well by Times columnist Oliver Kamm last week. Only the government can undertake the investment and planning necessary for complex projects such [...]
The EU mustn’t shoot itself in the foot – euro clearing thrives in London February 21, 2017 Brexit has presented EU leaders with something of a quandary: should they punish the UK in a bid to preserve their political union, or, in doing so, do they risk shooting themselves in the foot? To put it another way – will they allow politics to trump economics? In the immediate aftermath of last June’s EU [...]
British consumers see no negatives from Brexit despite rising economy fears February 21, 2017 Brexit did not stop British consumer confidence from growing over the past year, despite the economy topping a list of concerns for future prospects, according to a new poll. British consumer confidence at the end of 2016 was marginally higher than a year earlier and far ahead of European average, according to pollsters Nielsen. More than [...]
Wellcome Trust set for $100m windfall from Snap IPO as tech firm woos City investors February 20, 2017 The Wellcome Trust is set for a huge windfall from the hottest tech IPO of the year. Snap's public offering, expected next week, will return around $100m (£80.3m) to the science institution following on from successful early bets on Facebook and Alibaba, among others. It comes as the Los Angeles-based startup sought to woo European investors, bringing its IPO [...]
Netflix and Hills: how streaming services are moving in on Hollywood real estate February 20, 2017 | City Talk The Schroders Global Cities Index ranks the fastest growing urban economies in the world. We write about our favourite cities on the Global Cities Blog. With Netflix having just committed to an office spanning 25 acres in Hollywood, we explain why we like LA. Sitting at number six in the Global Cities Index, we rate Los [...]
Fear of Marine Le Pen pushes French government bond yield gap to highest since 2012 February 20, 2017 Renewed fears over the chances of far-right Marine Le Pen winning the French Presidency have pushed the gap between French and German benchmark government bond yields to its widest since 2012. The Franco-German 10-year yield spread widened above 80 basis points on Monday as Le Pen, candidate for the nationalist National Front, continues to benefit in polls. [...]
Why everything you think you know about the gig economy might be wrong February 20, 2017 The rise of the so-called gig economy characterised by new technology platforms such as Uber and Deliveroo has sent the number of self-employed workers soaring in recent years… or so says conventional thinking. But, a new report suggests it is, in fact, higher earners in high-skilled jobs who are driving the growth of the self-employed to top [...]
S&P Global Platts is overhauling its Brent oil benchmark for the first time since 2007 February 20, 2017 S&P Global Platts' Brent oil assessment is set to be revamped for the first time in a decade to address the falling supply underpinning the benchmark that prices most of the world's oil. The oil pricing agency said it will add Norway's Troll crude to the four British and Norwegian crudes it already uses to assess dated [...]
Greece repays €2bn loan ahead of crunch bailout talks February 20, 2017 Greece has repaid a €2bn loan from its European creditors ahead of a crunch meeting over the terms of its bailout. The repayment is part of the €86bn bailout programme from the “troika” of creditors, the European Central Bank, the European Commission, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Bailout administrator European Stability Mechanism (ESM) announced [...]