Wage costs grow in Britain amid record high employment rates March 18, 2019 Wage costs in the UK grew 1.7 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2018 from the quarter before, compared to an average of 0.5 per cent quarter on quarter growth over the last 10 years. Wage costs per hour worked in Britain – meaning benefits in kind, wages and salaries – were 3.2 per cent higher in the [...]
Chick-fix: Glencore offices raided over chickpea price conspiracy March 18, 2019 More than 25 Indian officials descended on the Mumbai office of Glencore at the weekend as authorities investigate alleged price fixing of one of the country’s vital commodities – chickpeas. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is looking into claims that commodities traders at Glencore Agriculture, which is half owned by the Anglo-Swiss miner, conspired [...]
Venezuela looks to Russia for oil exports as US sanctions bite the Maduro regime March 18, 2019 Venezuela may divert its US oil exports to Russia, the country’s oil minister said today after the Trump administration slapped sanctions on the country. Manuel Quevedo, who is also president of state-run oil company PDVSA, said oil initially headed to the US could be re-routed to other countries. Read more: Venezuelan opposition prepares to confront [...]
EU trade surplus with US grows as deficit with China rises March 18, 2019 The Eurozone’s trade in goods surplus in January was half the level of a year earlier, slipping to €1.5bn from €3bn, the latest figures have revealed. Meanwhile the European Union’s goods trade surplus with the US rose in January while its deficit with China increased, in news likely to anger US President Donald Trump. Read more: [...]
Fraud office launches investigation into collapsed lender London Capital & Finance March 18, 2019 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has launched an investigation into failed £236m lender London Capital & Finance (LCF), it said today. The SFO said it made four arrests in the Kent and Sussex areas on 4 March. It said all four individuals have been released pending further investigation. The SFO is investigating in conjunction with [...]
UK statistics body to start using new, quicker indicators March 18, 2019 The UK’s main statistical body will move to new, faster economic indicators to keep up with demand from policymakers and analysts and to compete with other services, it said today. Read more: UK economy rebounds in January after December slump The Office for National Statistics (ONS) announced today that from mid-April it would use new [...]
London miners dominate market rise after iron giant Vale cuts output March 18, 2019 London’s miners dragged the stock exchange upwards this morning after Brazilian iron giant Vale announced another output cut over the weekend. The company, which is in crisis after one of its dams burst leaving over 300 people dead or missing, said a court had ordered it to stop operating the Timbopeba mine in Minas Gerais [...]
Raghuram Rajan: The central banker trying to save globalisation from itself March 18, 2019 Political and economic debate generally divides around two pillars: markets and state. Free-marketeers see a world where, when people are free to buy and sell according to the laws of supply and demand, business competition naturally drives quality up and prices down, resulting in prosperity and productivity for all. At the other end of the [...]
UK export growth nearly slips into contraction due to Brexit and wider economic slowdown March 18, 2019 UK export growth almost slipped into contraction in the first quarter of this year due to Brexit concerns and a global economic slowdown. German export growth also slowed, falling for the fifth consecutive quarter, due to weaker car sales, according to a survey by accountancy firm BDO. Read more: German export confidence slides as last [...]
Investment to hit lowest rate since financial crisis, UK business body warns March 18, 2019 Business investment in the UK will decline by one per cent in 2019 amid further Brexit uncertainty, making it the worst year since the financial crisis, the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) has today predicted. Economic growth in 2019 will be just 1.2 per cent, the BCC, the national body of 53 chambers of commerce, also [...]