Bank of England rates unlikely to increase until second half of 2016 August 7, 2013 The Bank of England has introduced a US Fed style unemployment threshold, of seven per cent. Some analysts had anticipated this. UK unemployment was at 7.8 per cent in the three months to May. So we'd need about 750,000 more jobs to be created. In particular, the MPC intends not to raise Bank Rate from [...]
Lost in translation: Tensions between UK and Spain over Gibraltar high as ever August 7, 2013 Reports of progress on de-escalating the tension between Spain, the UK and Gibraltar over proposals to introduce a border charge following a fishing dispute seem to have been lost in translation somewhere. This comes as the UK and Spanish government release potentially contradictory responses to the outcome of a phone call from UK prime minister [...]
FCA completes reform of supervision department with four new directors August 7, 2013 The UK financial regulator the Financial Conduct Authority has appointed four new directors to its supervision division, concluding the structural reform of that unit started in April this year. The FCA says the new structure better aligns its function with the markets it oversees and the products consumers buy. The appointments are: Karina McTeague as [...]
Inflation report look ahead: What the analysts are expecting from Carney August 7, 2013 All eyes on the Bank of England at 10.30 this morning, as the Inflation Report is unveiled. Several analysts are predicting that the central bank could adopt a Fed-style unemployment target. UK unemployment was at 7.8 per cent in the three months to May. Emily Nicol, Daiwa Capital Markets: The main policy event today will [...]
Earnings per share in Old Mutual more than halve in first six months but investors are still buying August 7, 2013 Savings and investment group Old Mutual has reported an 11 per cent increase in pre-tax profits to £805m for the first half of the year, but a 54 per cent fall in basic earnings per share to 8.9p from 19.2p (release). The group said adjusting operating profit increased by 14 per cent to £801m, in [...]
£70m project will see Kier replace nine of London’s oldest fire stations August 7, 2013 Construction company Kier has announced that a £70m project to revamp London's fire stations will go ahead. The Blue 3 consortium including Kier and DIF Infrastructure II will replace nine stations with £52m of government funding (release). Stations at Purley, Dockhead, Old Kent Road, Mitcham, Dagenham, Leytonstone, Plaistow, Orpington and Shadwell will replace the current [...]
Before the open – 07/08 August 7, 2013 London's leading index, the FTSE, is expected to open down following US and Asian markets. Morning all. It's been a while! #FTSE called 18-20 lower this morning. Carney front and centre I guess. — FuturesTechs Updates (@FuturesTechs) August 7, 2013 Morning ftse -16, Dow -40, Dax -42, S&P1692.5, Nikkei -500, H/s -120, crude 105.25 Gold [...]
TUI Travel moves closer to profit as bookings fall August 7, 2013 Holiday company TUI travel has seen its losses moderate in the nine months to 30 June, as pre-tax losses drop from £454m to £369m (release). Bookings declined in Germany and France during the period, by five per cent and 22 per cent respectively. These drags saw total mainstream bookings fall by two per cent. Peter [...]
Bank of England governor faced with dilemma as economic recovery picks up pace August 6, 2013 NEW BANK of England boss Mark Carney faces his first real challenge as governor today, as he reveals a key decision on reforms that could lead to higher inflation. The Bank’s rate-setters publish their views on the potential for new unconventional monetary policy tools this morning, as part of their quarterly inflation report. The monetary [...]
G4S drops bid for tag contract after scandals August 6, 2013 GLOBAL security services firm G4S has dropped out of the bidding for a government electronic tagging contract worth £150m after a scandal over a previous deal. In July, justice secretary Chris Grayling said G4S had overcharged the government by millions of pounds on two previous agreements, tagging people who were already imprisoned or dead. According [...]