China’s economic slowdown: IMF warns central banks not to raise interest rates September 3, 2015 The IMF has warned the world's biggest economies not to raise their interest rates in the near future, as China's economic struggle could have far-reaching consequences. In a pessimistic report released last night, the international lender said the risk of a global slowdown was increasing, and that in most cases economies are falling short [...]
Survey points to slowest s September 3, 2015 Growth in the UK’s service sector has slowed to its lowest rate in over two years, according to new survey data, sparking concerns over the health of the economy. Markit’s purchasing managers’ index fell to a 27-month low of 55.6 in August, nearer to the 50 level that indicates flat activity, according to figures released [...]
More than half UK companies’ stock is foreign investor owned September 3, 2015 Foreign investors own nearly £1 trillion-worth of British companies. ONS figures show that at the end of 2014 shares in listed, UK-based companies were worth £1.7 trillion, and 54 per cent of their stock was owned by offshore investors, largely based in North America and Europe. The figure was up nearly 10 percentage points from [...]
Market carnage: The funds that survived August’s global sell-off September 3, 2015 Traditional safe havens such as bond funds and gold were the best places to invest during August’s market carnage. Fears over slowing global growth and the potential for a wave of deflation to emanate out of China have pushed investors into areas which some commentators had recently been decrying as worthless investments – such [...]
US construction growth sparks Ashtead profits September 3, 2015 Equipment hire group Ashtead topped the FTSE 100 leaderboard yesterday, bucking the woes of the wider sector to unveil encouraging first-quarter results. The company, which derives 85 per cent of its revenues from its North American business Sunbelt, reaped the rewards of the continued US construction recovery as it posted a 20 per cent rise [...]
Business sticks up for rise in zero-hour contracts September 3, 2015 Business groups have defended zero-hours contracts after official figures showed that the number of people on contracts with no guarantee of a minimum number of hours has increased by almost 20 per cent in the last year. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the number of people on zero-hours contracts as their [...]
Volkswagen’s board backs extension of chief exec Martin Winterkorn’s contract September 3, 2015 Volkswagen yesterday proposed the extension of chief executive Martin Winterkorn’s contract until the end of 2018, proving that he has the company’s backing following a high-profile power struggle with former chairman Ferdinand Piech, who was ousted earlier this year. The executive committee of the supervisory board of the German car manufacturing giant unanimously voted in [...]
Living wage is set to boost women’s pay September 3, 2015 Three in every 10 female employees in the country are set to receive pay rises due to the new minimum wage for over-25s, according to a report out today by independent think-tank the Resolution Foundation. The measure, announced in July’s Budget, will initially be set at £7.20, 50p above the National Minimum Wage which [...]
FTSE index quarterly review: Berkeley Group Holdings’ FTSE 100 place confirmed, Weir Group out September 2, 2015 Berkeley Group Holdings will officially join the FTSE 100 later this month with engineering company Weir Group making way. Read more: Housebuilder shares drop on "vanilla" house price data The anticipated reshuffle was confirmed as part of the index's quarterly review which also announced FTSE 250 entrances for Circassia Pharmaceuticals, P2P Global Investments and Sophos Group. [...]
Why zero hours contracts are good news for both workers and businesses September 2, 2015 One in 40 British workers is now employed on a zero hours contract. Depending on your point of view, this is either a blight on the state of modern Britain, a sign of capitalism in dysfunction, or it is the jewel in Britain’s flexible labour market crown and proof that one in 40 people who [...]