UK productivity at 18-year low compared to G7 September 18, 2013 WORKERS in the UK are producing a significantly lower output per hour than their peers in similar countries, with official calculations published yesterday revealing the widest gap in productivity since 1994. The situation in the UK worsened between 2011 and 2012, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed, in contrast to the average across the [...]
Frozen salaries thawing in 2013 September 18, 2013 FEWER companies are seeing pay freezes in 2013 than during the previous year, according to figures released by Incomes Data Services. Last year, pay freezes accounted for 12 per cent of awards by the end of July but only account for around eight per cent this year. In 2013 so far, pay awards increased by [...]
US real wages shrink again September 18, 2013 US HOUSEHOLD incomes barely grew last year, climbing up to $51,100 (£31,900) on average, after a below-inflation increase of $83 from 2011. According to official statistics released yesterday, this is the fifth year in which median real wages have dropped. The number of Americans in poverty also climbed to 46.5m in 2012, despite a drop [...]
Pound soars on bullish minutes as Bank sticks September 18, 2013 STERLING’S summer surge continued yesterday after minutes of the Bank of England’s latest policy-setting meeting revealed a bullish outlook on the UK economy, with little prospect for further stimulus. The Bank’s nine-man monetary policy committee (MPC) voted unanimously to hold interest rates at 0.5 per cent for the 55th consecutive month in September, with its [...]
Lenders claim Cyprus progress despite rising jobless numbers September 18, 2013 THE EUROPEAN Commission and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) both released reports on Cyprus’ bailout yesterday, suggesting that the country’s programme is on track. But the IMF expects that unemployment in the struggling island economy will rise, from 17 per cent at the end of this year to 19.5 per cent in 2014. The report [...]
Euro builders see slowdown over summer September 18, 2013 ACTIVITY in the Eurozone’s construction industry slowed down in July, rising by only 0.3 per cent after a stronger second quarter. In April, May and June, production in the sector grew by between 0.8 and one per cent per month, adding to the growth that dragged the currency union out of its recession. Construction production [...]
BlackBerry looks to begin layoffs September 18, 2013 CANADIAN smartphone maker BlackBerry could be looking to cut 40 per cent of its staff by the end of the year according to a report yesterday. Sources quoted by the Wall Street Journal said the phone company is looking to begin laying off waves of staff across the board to drastically reduce its 12,700 employee [...]
Fedex delivers on its pledge to lower its costs September 18, 2013 LOGISTICS giant FedEx posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit on cost cuts yesterday and said it would raise rates next year for express shipping, a business that has suffered as customers shift to slower but cheaper delivery options. The company, considered an economic bellwether because of the massive volume of goods it moves around the world, [...]
Google founds a new company to battle age-related illnesses September 18, 2013 GOOGLE plans to set up a new company called Calico, headed by Apple and Genentech chairman Art Levinson, to develop technologies to tackle health issues related to aging. The new company will be run separately from Google, the world’s largest internet search company, with a focus on issues including life-threatening diseases and problems affecting mental [...]
One man’s graffiti is a fund manager’s art find September 18, 2013 CITY art fans may recall that earlier in the summer, a piece of street graffiti popped up outside the new headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt. One particularly striking black and white image showed ECB president Mario Draghi as James Bond in the film Casino Royale, posing with a glamourously-dressed Angela Merkel [...]