TfL is asking for views on upping the congestion charge January 6, 2014 Transport for London (TfL) has hatched a new plan to raise funds, announcing today that it'd like Londoners' views on some changes to the congestion charge – which it's intending to increase. The daily charge, which has been £10 since 2011, will be upped to £11.50 with the new proposals. The increase will raise around [...]
Bitcoin bounces back above $1,000 after this new endorsement January 6, 2014 Bitcoin has bounced back across the $1,000 (£610) mark in the wake of the announcement that social game company Zynga would accept the virtual currency for some of its services. Players of games such as FarmVille 2 and CastleVille will now be able to use Bitpay, a Bitcoin payment provider to make in-game purchases. Zynga [...]
German inflation accelerates slightly in December January 6, 2014 German inflation accelerated marginally in December, increasing 1.4 per cent from a year earlier, according to a flash estimate released by the national statistics agency. Europe's largest economy is, however, still falling short of the European Central Bank's target of two per cent inflation, while other countries in the euro area continue to struggle with [...]
China gives private banks pilot the thumbs up January 6, 2014 A pilot scheme to create three to five private banks has been approved by China's banking regulator, in a bid to up financial support for struggling smaller firms, reports Reuters. The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) said it would maintain "prudential regulatory standards" when approving private banks. The first would, it said, be set up [...]
Here’s Nissan’s new London cab January 6, 2014 There's a new London black cab in the works. Japanese car maker Nissan has today unveiled its new version of the iconic vehicle, which is expected to go on sale in December. The company said the new taxi will sport a 1.6l petrol engine, making it cleaner than the current diesel model. It'll also be [...]
Here’s why Osborne thinks 2014 is “the year of hard truths” January 6, 2014 Chancellor George Osborne has spoken today on the economic choice Britain has this year. Difficult decisions are needed in 2014, he said, with more cuts (£25bn after the next election) and repairs. He added that working through the plan to deliver economy success is "a choice for the British people". Speaking at manufacturing company Sertec [...]
2014: The return of the gold bulls January 6, 2014 Gold analysts are at their most bullish for over a year, according to Bloomberg News. Of the 21 analysts surveyed, 15 expected gold to rise this week, two were bearish and four were neutral. This represents the highest number of bulls seen in the survey since December 2012. The survey follows a Capital Economics note [...]
Services slowdown fails to dampen UK optimism January 6, 2014 The UK Markit services PMI fell from 60.4 in November to 58.8 in December. UK services PMI had been expected to rise to 60.5. UK services showed a similar performance to manufacturing in December. While the pace of growth has declined, there was still a strong increase in activity and employment. The major factor contributing [...]
A mixed bag for Europe’s services sector as Spain sees fastest growth since 2007 January 6, 2014 This morning has brought mixed news for Europe's services sector, with purchasing managers' index surveys for December released by Markit. The Eurozone's PMI came in in line with expectations at 51 – a slight edging down from November's 51.2, but still remaining in growth. Spain's services sector saw an unexpected pick up, growing at its [...]
UK business optimism at 20-year high January 6, 2014 Three major business surveys out today have shown that companies of all sizes are growing in confidence over their ability to grow sales, exports and profits. In fact, they're more optimistic this year than they've been over the last twenty, said Lloyds' external relations head Stephen Pegge to the BBC. A survey of over 1,500 [...]