Britain will join US to protect ships from Iranian attack August 5, 2019 Britain plans to work with the US to ensure the safety of commercial ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz from Iranian attack, defence secretary Ben Wallace said today amid escalating tensions in the region. However the UK will not join US sanctions against Iran, Wallace said after President Donald Trump ripped up a nuclear [...]
Tumbling Chinese currency drags down stock markets on trade war fears August 5, 2019 China’s currency the renminbi today slumped against the dollar to a level not seen since the financial crisis, sparking an equities sell off due to fears of a further escalation of trade tensions. Read more: Donald Trump accuses Beijing of currency manipulation The currency, which the Chinese government lets fluctuate two per cent either side [...]
Investor confidence in Eurozone hits five-year low August 5, 2019 Eurozone investors were at their gloomiest since October 2014 in August, according to a survey from finance data firm Sentix, which called a German recession “inevitable”. Read more: Eurozone economy slows as German weakness continues Sentix’s economic index of investor confidence fell by 7.9 points to minus 13.7 in August, significantly below the minus 7.7 [...]
Donald Trump accuses Beijing of currency manipulation August 5, 2019 US President Donald Trump has accused China of currency manipulation and said the Federal Reserve should act to lower the value of the dollar. Read more: Markets in turmoil as Chinese currency falls to financial crisis levels Trump tweeted: “China dropped the price of their currency to an almost a historic low. It’s called “currency [...]
Dialight woes continue with ‘disappointing’ results and chairman exit August 5, 2019 Dialight shares have fallen today on the release of its “disappointing” half-year results and the appointment of a new chairman. The LED lighting company posted a £1.6m loss for the first half of 2019, down from a profit of £2m for the same period the previous year. Revenue fell two per cent to £76.1m compared [...]
FTSE 100 tumbles as trade war heats up and Brexit approaches August 5, 2019 Britain’s FTSE 100 stock index has tumbled 1.9 per cent as an escalation of trade tensions and the growing likelihood of a no-deal Brexit cause investors to sell UK shares and buy safer assets. Read more: Markets in turmoil as Chinese currency falls to financial crisis levels The sell-off of British equities sent investors towards [...]
Why has the weaker pound failed to turbocharge the economy? August 5, 2019 | City Talk The sharp fall in the pound in the wake of the 2016 Brexit referendum would help “rebalance the UK economy”, in the words of Mervyn King, former governor of the Bank of England. But since then, the UK has struggled to improve its trade position and has certainly not seen any boost to GDP growth. [...]
UK service sector posts modest growth but economy ‘skirts recession’ August 5, 2019 Activity in the UK service sector edged up to a nine-month high in July, a closely-watched survey has shown, but stayed well below the post-financial crisis average. Read more: UK manufacturing sector ‘suffocating’ amid Brexit and a global slowdown Growth in the service sector, which makes up over 70 per cent of the UK economy, [...]
Eurozone economy slows as Germany weakness continues August 5, 2019 Growth in the Eurozone economy softened in July as German output fell to a six-year low and the manufacturing sector continued to struggle, a closely-watched survey has shown. Read more: German investors grow gloomier over Iran and trade tensions Yet the area’s services sector posted solid growth as employment grew and pay rose, highlighting a [...]
Markets in turmoil as Chinese currency falls to financial crisis levels August 5, 2019 China’s currency the renminbi has fallen to its lowest level against the dollar since the financial crisis, crashing through the seven-per-dollar threshold after an escalation in the US-China trade war. By 8.30am UK time the onshore traded renminbi had fallen 1.3 per cent to 7.030 per dollar. The drop prompted investors to sell so-called risk [...]