The Bank of England’s stress tests are over – but rather than breathe a sigh of relief, it’s time to start preparing for tougher tests December 3, 2015 It’s only the second year of the Bank of England’s annual concurrent stress test, but already it’s become one of the most significant events in financial services. The results of this year’s test, released on 1 December, confirmed the progress that the UK’s seven largest banking institutions have made in building their capital positions – [...]
US ISM non-manufacturing: Business survey shows economy slowing December 3, 2015 The US economy excluding manufacturing lost some momentum in November, according to a survey of firms released today. The Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) purchasing managers' index dropped to a score of 55.9 for last month from 59.1 in October. It is the lowest score since May. Scores above 50 indicate an improvement in business conditions compared [...]
Growing personal debt is a ticking time bomb and trouble will come when rates and inflation start to creep up December 3, 2015 It’s no surprise that we’re borrowing like there’s no tomorrow; prices are low, credit is cheap and coupled with wage growth you could say there’s a feeling of positivity in the air. Make the most of this sweet spot now; we’re watching a ticking time bomb and trouble is likely to be on the horizon. [...]
“An exquisitely wrapped lump of coal”: Here’s how economists are reacting to Mario Draghi and the European Central Bank’s decision to introduce further monetary easing December 3, 2015 European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi may have given markets a bit of what they wanted, but in the event it was more of a nerf gun than a bazooka. At a press conference today Draghi said the Bank will extend up its asset purchase programme into 2017, as well as cutting its deposit rate to minus [...]
European Central Bank extends asset purchases to March 2017 and cuts interest rates to new record lows December 3, 2015 The European Central Bank (ECB) has ramped up its asset purchase programme to the tune of €360bn (£257bn), its president Mario Draghi announced today. The programme will now run until the end of March 2017 instead of September 2016 as initially planned, but will stay at a rate of €60bn. It will take the value [...]
The Ofcom 4G spectrum sale has been postponed until 2016 due to Telefonica and Hutchison’s O2 Three merger and BT and EE’s mobile mega deal December 3, 2015 The government's sale of 4G spectrum which is expected to net the Treasury at least £70m has been delayed by the deal between Hutchison and Telefonica to merge mobile its networks O2 and Three. The auction process was due to commence this month, however, it will now go ahead as late as summer next year to wait for an EU decision on [...]
European markets under pressure following ECB decision to cut deposit rate by less than expected December 3, 2015 European markets have not reacted with confidence following a more-dovish-than-expected decision by the European Central Bank to cut its deposit rate to just minus 0.3 per cent. The FTSE 100 was trading 1.07 per cent down at 6,352 points in early afternoon trading, while the German Dax was 2.6 per cent lower at 10,891 points. The French CAC 40 was down [...]
London mayoral election 2016: New YouGov poll shows Sadiq Khan has a six-point lead over Zac Goldsmith December 3, 2015 Labour candidate for mayor of London Sadiq Khan now has a six-point lead over Conservative rival Zac Goldsmith, according to a new poll out today. A YouGov survey of more than 1,000 Londoners found 53 per cent of likely voters favoured Khan, compared to 47 per cent backing Goldsmith. The poll found that Khan has a particularly strong lead (57 [...]
Individuals are shouldering more of the tax burden as companies find ways to pay less, warns OECD December 3, 2015 Since the global economic crisis corporate tax revenues have been falling, pilling greater pressure on individual taxpayers to shoulder the burden so that governments can meet financing requirements, according to the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Individual workers and consumers are now taking on the burden of more tax, as across OECD countries average revenues from [...]
Almost every top-range hoverboard listed on eBay and Alibaba is a counterfeit product December 3, 2015 NULL