All change at Bob Diamond’s Atlas Mara as chief exec steps down February 16, 2017 Atlas Mara, the African investment vehicle co-founded by former Barclays boss Bob Diamond, has unveiled plans for a shake-up. The investor, which in October reported a 70 per cent slide in pre-tax profits, said chief executive John Vitalo had stepped down, with a replacement to be announced in "due course". Vitalo, who joined the company in [...]
World stocks hit fresh record highs as investors around the world look for risk February 16, 2017 World stock markets have risen to fresh all-time record highs as investors around the globe anticipate economic growth after a sustained period of stagnating economies. The MSCI all-country world index added further to Wednesday’s record highs with small gains on Asian markets mimicking those in US markets, despite futures suggesting the rally may pause when [...]
Winning the battle for completely free trade post-Brexit will vastly increase UK prosperity February 16, 2017 Economists for Free Trade (of which I’m part) is launching today to make the case for the UK to run completely free trade once we leave the EU in 2019. Our aim is simple. We want Britain to lead the world on free trade. Our group has been formed to fight the battle which needs [...]
As the EU sends an envoy to Greece to salvage the debt deal, would the Eurozone survive Grexit? February 16, 2017 Carsten Hesse, emerging European equity strategist at Berenberg, says Yes. Although tensions are flaring up again, it remains highly unlikely that Greece will leave the Eurozone. It has already done 80-90 per cent of the required fiscal repair and structural reforms and two-thirds of Greeks want to keep the euro. The current noise sounds like [...]
US crude stocks climb for the sixth week, this time nearly three times analysts’ forecasts February 15, 2017 Crude inventories in the US climbed for their sixth straight week – once again hitting unexpected levels. US stockpiles rose 9.5m barrels last week, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said. That was nearly three times analysts' forecasts. Oil prices rallied initially after the report was issued, but have since pared gains back to levels [...]
Italy needs banking reform to continue “weak” recovery says OECD February 15, 2017 Italy must reform its banking system if it is to continue on a “weak” path to recovery, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The country should be prepared to force holders of Italian bank debt to lose money rather than using public funds to bail them out, according to a report [...]
Productivity rises consecutively for a year but slow growth will provide little boost to UK wages February 15, 2017 Productivity in the UK recorded a year of consecutive improvements for the first time in more than five years, despite slowing slightly in the final three months of 2016. Output per hour grew by 0.3 per cent in the three months to December, according to preliminary estimates by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), a slowdown [...]
Five-year high for US inflation in biggest jump in consumer prices since 2013 February 15, 2017 Consumer prices in the US jumped in January by the most since 2013 as higher oil prices continue to make their impact around the world. Prices increased by 0.6 per cent in January to push annual inflation to 2.5 per cent, higher than expected, according to the US Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS). Rising petrol [...]
Inflation will push living costs 10 per cent higher than pre-crisis peak February 15, 2017 Inflation could push the cost of living 10 per cent higher than before the financial crisis by 2020, with 11m families below a poverty benchmark, according to a new report. Almost a third of the UK’s population falls below the minimum income standard measure used in the report by academics at Loughborough University and the [...]
Industrial strategy needs a three-pillared approach to boost British productivity February 15, 2017 It is clear that government intervention is required to address faltering productivity across the UK, and that this could be a positive step towards meeting the underlying structural challenges facing the UK economy, such as regional inequality and low wage growth. The government has now released its industrial strategy to address such issues. So how does [...]