Construction industry stumbles but don’t blame Brexit yet August 12, 2016 The stumble in UK construction in the run-up to the referendum was worse than economists first feared, as housebuilding and property development fell back in the second quarter of the year. Construction output dropped by 0.9 per cent in June, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) this morning. The decline [...]
This is where all the bankers live (and it’s not West London) August 12, 2016 West London has normally been thought of as the residential hot-spot for bankers – but although it still houses the most wealthy people in London, the City folk have moved out. City workers are now concentrated in the Isle of Dogs and fashionable Islington, according to data from salary benchmarking site Emolument. Read more: Mapped: First-time buyer [...]
China’s slowdown intensifies with weak summer spending August 12, 2016 China's economic rebalancing hit another speed bump this morning as fresh data came in below expectations. Growth in both the mighty industrial sector and consumer industries slipped back in July, highlighting the extent of China's struggle to maintain its breakneck expansion while also implementing structural reforms. This morning the National Bureau of Statistics said investment in fixed [...]
A new campaign website promoted by Jeremy Corbyn claims Labour and Tories “were neck and neck” in polls prior to the rebellion by party MPs… August 12, 2016 A new website promoted by Jeremy Corbyn's camp in an attempt to dispel myths about the Labour leader appears to be blaming the party's rebels for its poor performance in polls. CorbynFacts.com, revealed by the Labour leader's official campaign yesterday and launched during last night's Labour's second leadership hustings, prominently features the claim that Labour and [...]
Police are treating the death of a man found in Hyde Park this morning as “suspicious” August 12, 2016 The Metropolitan Police force has confirmed a body was found in Hyde Park in the early hours of the morning. Reports suggested the man's body was found near Speaker's Corner. A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: "Police in Westminster were called to Hyde Park, W2, at 05.50 on Friday following concerns for a man officer attended [...]
Sacre bleu: Eurostar staff’s work/life balance strike started at St Pancras this morning – here’s what you need to know August 12, 2016 The good news is that if you're planning on travelling to Paris today, things might not be as bad as expected – despite the fact RMT union members have put up pickets at St Pancras as they began the first stage of their work/life balance strike. The strike – which, lest we forget, was voted for [...]
Germany has beaten the forecast for growth in the second quarter, revealing its economy has not slowed as much as feared August 12, 2016 Germany has beaten forecasts for economic growth, reporting second quarter figures that show the economy slowing, but not as much as predicted. CMC Markets was among the firms predicting growth of 0.2 per cent, down from 0.7 per cent in the first three months of 2016. However, figures from the German Federal Statistics Office have [...]
What IEA report? Oil prices are back above $46 August 12, 2016 Brent crude oil prices rallied back above $46 this morning, after yesterday's hint by the Saudis that they might take further action to stabilise oil prices. Brent crude, the international benchmark, climbed 0.87 per cent to $46.44 in early trading in London – although its US counterpart, West Texas Intermediate, was at $43.90, 0.94 per cent [...]
Garfunkel’s owner Restaurant Group has a new chief executive August 12, 2016 Garfunkel's owner Restaurant Group has taken a punt on the former chief executive of Paddy Power as its new chief executive. The company said today it was replacing Danny Breithaupt with Andy McCue, who stepped down form his role of chief operating officer of Paddy Power earlier this year. McCue had held the role of chief executive at [...]
Google is facing an antitrust investigation in South Korea less than 24 hours after being hit with a $6.8m competition fine in Russia August 12, 2016 Google is being investigated by South Korea's antitrust regulator over concerns the search giant has violated competition laws. The Korea Fair Trade Commission revealed the investigation in a brief statement, while Reuters has reported that the watchdog inspected Google's Seoul HQ last month. The KFTC has investigated Google before. In 2013, the regulator cleared Google [...]