CBI boosts GDP forecasts after growth shock October 31, 2012 THE UK ECONOMY will stay flat overall through 2012, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) forecasted today, upping its outlook based on better-than-expected GDP data out last week. The UK economy will be in roughly the same position it was at the end of 2011, overall through 2012, according to CBI forecasts out today, up [...]
UK investors trust Obama over Romney to heal US economy October 31, 2012 UK investors are firmly behind Barack Obama in his campaign to be re-elected president, data from Lloyds TSB revealed yesterday, with little more than a tenth backing Republican challenger Mitt Romney. Forty-two per cent of UK investors surveyed said they had more confidence in the President than former governor Romney, the data showed, versus just [...]
Legal & General: flexible labour market has helped employment October 31, 2012 THE EMPLOYMENT boom that has confounded market observers is down to the UK’s flexible labour markets, Legal & General said today, and is not down to government jobs schemes or fudged data. Despite a double-dip recession, employment has increased in release after release, a puzzle which Legal & General economist James Carrick put down to [...]
Faith in government slashed in midst of double-dip recession October 31, 2012 CITIZENS’ trust in parliament and government dived this year, data showed yesterday, reversing gains seen in 2011 when the economy looked back on its way to growth. Twenty-three per cent of adults aged 15 and over said they tended to trust parliament, when surveyed by the Office for National Statistics in May, down from 29 [...]
Lending falls despite loans scheme October 31, 2012 UK banks’ exposure to real estate slid in the third quarter, as a percentage of total lending, Jones Lang LaSalle said yesterday, despite the government’s Funding for Lending scheme that intends to boost loans. Real estate lending fell to 8.4 per cent of the total in the period, the firm said, the lowest level since 2002, [...]
Austerity labelled self-defeating October 31, 2012 The government’s attempts to reduce the deficit may be self-defeating, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research claimed yesterday. It said that interest rates are so low that monetary policy can only have limited boosting power, and co-ordinated European retrenchment is damaging trade with Europe, so reducing the size of the fiscal stimulus could [...]
Child benefit cuts to cost £50,000 October 31, 2012 The coalition’s cuts to child benefit could cost some families up to £50,000 according to a PwC report published this morning. A two-parent family with three children aged under six would lose this amount by the time their youngest is 18, assuming one parent is earning £60,000 or more. A family in the same situation [...]
US mortgage applications slump despite more relaxed loan terms October 31, 2012 US CREDIT conditions on bank loans eased in the three months to October, data showed yesterday, but this improvement was not enough to boost demand for mortgages, according to separate statistics. Banks are dropping both standards and terms, the Federal Reserve said, driven by fierce competition from other banks as well as non-bank lenders. US [...]
Vodafone bags Kiwi telecoms firm after regulator clears deal October 31, 2012 VODAFONE yesterday won approval for its NZ$840m (£429m) takeover of struggling telecoms company TelstraClear, as part of a bid to take on the dominant Telecom New Zealand. The country’s competition authorities gave Vodafone the green light for the deal yesterday. In New Zealand, as in the UK, Vodafone runs a mobile phone network. But is [...]
Panasonic and Toshiba warn of a slowdown October 31, 2012 JAPANESE electronics giants Toshiba and Panasonic both admitted trading had been disappointing in the last few months yesterday, and warned that prospects continued to be stormy. The two heavyweights have struggled to move as quickly as more nimble competitors such as Samsung in key markets like televisions. Panasonic said it would lose around ¥765bn (£5.9bn) [...]