OECD warns of BRIC slowdown as other major economies recover August 8, 2013 The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has warned of a slowdown in large emerging economises, but said it expects improvement in most other major countries (release). The OECD’s composite leading indicators (CLIs) for the US and the UK point to economic growth firming, and a pick up in growth in the Eurozone as [...]
Greek unemployment hits fresh highs August 8, 2013 The number of unemployed people between the ages of 15 and 24 in Greece hit 64.9 per cent in May, up from 55.1 per cent the year before. Unemployment for the country at a whole rose to a record high of 27.6 per cent from an upwardly revised 27.0 per cent the month before and [...]
False major earthquake alarm in Japan causes temporary panic August 8, 2013 The Japanese Meteorological Agency has said it is investigating a false alarm it issued via an early warning system this morning regarding a strong earthquake of magnitude 7.8 in the Nara prefecture in western Japan. Echoing an incident in the US last month when iPhones in New York issued simultaneous flash flood warnings to users, [...]
Dependence on cash benefits has increased over the past 50 years August 8, 2013 Over the past fifty years, the proportion of incomes made up from cash benefits by the state has increased as policymakers have struggled to withdraw those introduced in tough times and from the effect of an ageing population. However, the effective tax rate has fallen from its peak in the early 1980s (release). Between 1961 [...]
Employment in London small businesses grew by 15 per cent over the last decade August 8, 2013 The number of people working for small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) in London has grown by around 15 per cent over the period 2001 to 2011, according to a report by the Office for National Statistics (release). This report from the ONS is the second part of a two-part paper on the size of [...]
European Central Bank cuts growth and inflation forecasts August 8, 2013 The European Central Bank has announced it will be keeping interest rates unchanged, but warned that risks continue to be tilted towards the downside. The bank downgraded its Eurozone's GDP forecast for 2013 to -0.6 per cent from -0.4 per cent, and for 2014 to 0.9 per cent from 1.0 per cent. It also revised [...]
ECB holds interest rates but cuts growth and inflation forecasts for 2013 and 2014 August 8, 2013 The European Central Bank has decided to keep interest rates unchanged and reiterated its commitment to keeping monetary policy accommodative for as long as necessary and interest rates to remain at present or lower levels for an “extended period of time” (report). The bank said downgraded the Eurozone’s 2013 GDP forecast by 0.2 percentage points [...]
Ladbrokes shares plunge as it cuts revenue forecasts for gaming machines August 8, 2013 Shares in Ladbrokes plunged over five per cent today as the UK betting company reported its pre-tax profits nearly halved to £67.3m from £123.7m in the first half of the year. Basic earnings per share fell to 5.2p from 12.5p. It warned that it is no longer expecting like-for-like revenue growth from gaming machines for [...]
China not headed for a “hard landing” says Rio Tinto boss as volatility pushes earnings down August 8, 2013 Mining giant Rio Tinto has reported pre-tax profits were more or less flat in the first half of the year and a 71 per cent fall in basic earnings per share (EPS). Its chief executive Sam Walsh warned against global economic volatility, but does not think China is headed for a hard landing. Pre-tax [...]
Standard Life reports slip in first half pre-tax profits and earnings per share August 8, 2013 Standard Life is the second major insurer to report a boost in operating profits this morning, with group pre-tax operating profits up six per cent to £304m (release). However, pre-tax profits slipped 6.6 per cent to £281m. Basic earnings per share was also down to 3.5p from 5.5p. Operating profits were boosted by a 28 [...]