London Report: Unemployment near threshold for UK rate hike January 19, 2014 UNEMPLOYMENT figures due out this week look set to show further signs of the UK’s recovery, with November’s rate expected to have fallen. Alan Clarke, of ScotiaBank said: “The highlight of the UK economic calendar is going to be the labour report, where we see a very good chance that the unemployment rate falls by [...]
Wall St The Week Ahead: US stocks on a high despite mixed earnings January 19, 2014 THE initial reads on earnings have been mixed, and yet US stocks are hovering near all-time highs. This week, investors will see whether the first companies out of the gate were a harbinger of what’s to come. More than 60 S&P 500 companies are scheduled to release results next week, including more than half a [...]
The world’s best charity is now accepting Bitcoin January 17, 2014 The charity that provides a wealth service to the poorest in Kenya and Uganda is now accepting Bitcoin. Give Directly is a pretty unique specimen when it comes to charities. It gives a cash transfer to a recipient, expecting to put 93 per cent of a donation into their hands. At the end of 2012, [...]
How Bank of England heavyweights criticised their own policy, 20 years early January 17, 2014 It's taken the Bank of England four years to get inflation back to target – but many think the Monetary Policy Committee is looking in the wrong place entirely. In fact, the committee's own members seem to have agreed. A comment at the market monetarist blog Britmouse documents how members of the Bank of England's [...]
Slipping US consumer confidence misses by most in 8 years January 17, 2014 Positive US consumer sentiment fell slightly at the beginning of the year, missing expectations by the biggest margin in eight years and marking the fourth miss in five months. The Reuters/Michigan survey of consumers in dropped to 80.4 in January, after expectations of an increase to 83.5, up from 82.5 in December. There's not [...]
EU could still put a stop to UK shale gas January 17, 2014 Brussels could be on the verge of launching an investigation into the UK's plans to incentivise the drilling of shale gas. In a Twitter conversation on 14 January, EU competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia, told a EurActiv reporter that investigations would take place if needed. @ArthurNeslen If needed, they will be investigated indeed — joaquin almunia [...]
US house building recovery loses momentum in December January 17, 2014 Cold weather saw US house building activity slip in December, with new construction of homes down 9.8 per cent to 999,000 annualised. The number's above the expected fall to 985,000, but the extremely wintery weather much of the US has seen over the last few weeks still signifcantly dragged down starts from November's strong numbers [...]
Why this one bank is still cheery after Shell’s profit warning January 17, 2014 Shell dealt something of a blow to investors this morning, as it issued its first profit warning in 10 years. The fourth quarter of 2013 was never going to be a good one for the oil giant, with almost a fifth of its LNG portfolio down for maintenance. Then high exploration and refining costs, fuel [...]
How a new contact lens will free diabetics from regular blood tests January 17, 2014 A smart contact lens could be on its way to help diabetics, by entirely replacing the need for regular blood tests. The lens uses miniaturised sensors and a wireless transmitter to measure the amount of glucose in a patient's tears. Google X laboratory's device has already gone through a series of clinical research studies – [...]
UK retail sales increase at strongest rate since February 2010 in December January 17, 2014 Christmas was a pretty mixed bag for some retailers, but figures from the Office for National Statistics suggest that the squeeze on consumers is easing, and they were able to make the most of bargain and discount shopping. December retail sales jumped 5.3 per cent from a year earlier, up 2.6 per cent in the [...]